HAWKEYES WIN SEASON OPENER

Stats

Aug. 29, 2008

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The men and women Hawkeye runners opened the season with wins in the Hawkeye Invitational. The women participated in a 3,000 meter race and the men ran a 6,000 meter race. Men’s and women’s teams from Texas A&M and Wichita State also participated in the invitational at Ashton Cross Country Course.

The women had a strong finish, claiming seven of the top 10 times in their race. Senior Racheal Marchand (2nd, 10:25.83) led the Hawkeyes and raced a new personal best. Other top Hawkeye placers include graduate student Sarah Spencer Perry (4th, 10:40.43), freshman Betsy Flood (5th, 10:41.55) and freshman Brooke Eilers (6th, 10:43.21). Coach Layne Anderson says that the invite is a great start in what he hopes to be a great season. The individual winner was Kellyn Johnson from Wichita State with a time of 10:18.86.

The men also won their race with Hawkeyes claiming the top three individual times. Freshman Nick Holmes (1st, 18:33.23) led the pack with a very convincing performance in his Hawkeye debut. Junior Jesse Luciano (2nd, 18:40.03) finished second and raced a new personal best. Senior Eric MacTaggart (3rd, 18:51.05), who holds the course record for the 6,000 meters, finished third. Coach Larry Wieczorek was very pleased with the overall team performance, but was also very impressed with Holmes’ performance and hopes that he can add firepower to an already solid veteran lineup.

The Hawkeyes next meet is the Iowa Invite on September 12th in Iowa City, IA. The women will run a 3,000 meter race at 6:00 p.m., and the men will run a 6,000 meter race at 6:30 p.m.