Hawkeyes to Compete at Roy Griak Invitational

Sept. 22, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK — The men will head to Minneapolis, MN, for the Roy Griak Invitational and will run an 8,000 meter race at 12:10 p.m.

IOWA INVITE RESULTS — Both the men and women’s teams faced off against Northern Iowa in the Iowa Invite, with the men running a 6,000 meter race and the women running a 3,000 meter race. The men performed very well, claiming the top seven finishes. Sophomores Bruce MacTaggart (19:27.27) and Mark Battista (19:28.36) finished first and second, respectively, and coach Larry Wieczorek says their strong finishes should be a confidence booster for these two athletes. The women finished with five of the top 10 times with junior Krista Anderson (10:50.38) claiming the best time for Iowa. Coach Layne Anderson cited tired legs from a hard week of practice as the culprit for a race that he wasn’t completely satisfied with.

IOWA WOMEN’S COACH Layne Anderson — Anderson is in his sixth season as the women’s cross country head coach. In his five years, the Hawkeyes have reached a level of success not seen since the 1980’s. The Hawkeyes qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2006 for the first time in 14 years, and then qualified again in 2007. The Hawkeyes finished 5th in the 2007 Big Ten Championship, the team’s highest finish since 1993, and placed third in the NCAA Midwest Regional the last two years. The team has earned academic all-American honors all five seasons with 26 Hawkeyes earning academic all-Big Ten honors. Anderson holds two degrees from The Citadel: a bachelor’s (1989) and masters of education (1991), both in health and physical education. Anderson and his wife, Alexis, have a son, Sawyer.

IOWA MEN’S COACH Larry Wieczorek — Wieczorek is in his 22nd season as the men’s cross country coach. Under Wieczorek, the Hawkeyes placed sixth or higher 10 times at the NCAA Regional championships, posted 31 all-region selections and qualified for the NCAA championship five times. In 2002, the Hawkeyes won the NCAA Regional for the first time in school history and Wieczorek was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year by the United States Cross Country Association. Wieczorek is a six-time Big Ten champion (two in cross country) and four time all-American at Iowa. He was also part of the last Big Ten track championship team (1967). He earned a B.S. degree in physical education from Iowa (1969) and a M.S. degree from Northern Illinois University (1973). His wife’s name is Jackie.

NEXT TIME OUT — The men and women’s teams will participate in the Auburn Invite Oct. 4th.