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Oct. 23, 2006
THIS WEEK — The men and women’s cross country teams will travel to Bloomington, IN, to compete in the Big Ten Championships Sunday. The women will race in the 6,000-meter run at 10:45 a.m. ET, while the men will race in the 8,000-meter run at 11:30 a.m. ET.
MEN’S LAST TIME OUT — The men’s cross country team traveled to Terre Haute, IN, to compete in the Pre-Nationals. The men raced among 10 ranked teams in the 8,000-meter race. The Hawkeyes came out strong and left the meet with a fifth place finish. The Hawkeyes were lead by senior Micah VanDenend (6th, 23:39). Other runners scoring for Iowa were junior Eric MacTaggart (25th, 24:04), freshman Jesse Luciano (66th, 24:34), senior Jeff Kent (72nd, 24:39) and sophomore Blake Schlotzhaur (104th, 24:52). Also, running for Iowa were junior Andy Napier (179th, 25:32) and redshirt freshman Tommy Tate (193rd, 25:42).
HAWKEYES IN THE RANKINGS–Latest rankings by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association were released October 17th. The women’s team is ranked 23rd in the national rankings and third in the region. The men’s cross country team is ranked 17th in the national rankings and third in the regional rankings. For complete results visit www.ustfccca.com.
THE MEET– The men’s cross country team enters this meet with two other Big Ten schools, Wisconsin and Minnesota, ranked ahead of them national and Michigan close behind. Wisconsin, the defending national champions and Big Ten champions, look to be strong again this year as it has held on to its top ranking since the preseason. The Iowa women head into the Big Ten Championships ranked 23rd and into a very strong and competitive field. The Hawkeyes will compete against five other national ranked teams, Michigan (3rd), Wisconsin (5th), Minnesota (6th), Illinois (9th) and Michigan State (13th). Michigan is the women’s returning Big Ten champion.
HAWKEYE MEN’S COACH Larry Wieczorek — Larry Wieczorek is in his 20th season as Iowa men’s cross country coach. During his tenure, the cross country team has placed sixth or higher nine times at the NCAA Regional Championships, has posted 27 all-region selections and qualified for the NCAA Championships four times. In 2002, Wieczorek was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors by the United States Cross Country Association after the Hawkeyes won the NCAA Regional for the first time in school history. In 2004, the Hawkeyes recorded their highest placings under Wieczorek at the Big Ten (3rd) and NCAA Championships (13th). Wieczorek was a two-time Big Ten champion and a menber of Iowa’s last Big Ten track championship team in 1967. Wieczorek still owns the Iowa record in the indoor two miles.
QUOTING COACH WIECZOREK — “Wisconsin looks to be the ones leading the pack, but it will be a dog fight for second. We have beat everyone in the Big Ten this year, besides Minnesota, and hope to compete well at the Big Ten Champinoships.”