Hawkeyes To Compete At Auburn Invite

Sept. 29, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK — The men’s and women’s teams will be in Auburn, AL, for the Auburn Invite Oct. 4. The men will run an 8,000 meter race 10:15 a.m. CT and the women will run a 5,000 meter race at 9:30 a.m.

ROY GRIAK INVITE RESULTS — The Iowa men’s team finished ninth out of 25 teams with 255 points. Iowa’s top runner was junior Jesse Luciano (14th, 24:40). Senior Eric MacTaggart (54th, 25:25) and sophomore Sam Bailin (55th, 25:27) were the next top finishers.

WEEK ONE USTFCCCA RANKINGS – The men’s and women’s teams moved up in the midwest regional rankings for week one from their preseason rankings. The women are currently ranked third and the men fifth. The women moved up one spot from previously being ranked fourth, while the men jumped two spots from previously being ranked seventh. In the national rankings, the women are still ranked 27th.

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 women’s team will travel to Terre Haute, IN, for Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18. The men will either join the women’s squad or travel to Peoria, IL, for the Bradley Invite.