Nov. 10, 2008
THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men’s and women’s teams will head to Stillwater, OK, for the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Nov 15. The women will run a 6,000 meter race at 11:00 a.m. ET and the men will run a 10,000 meter race at 11:45 a.m.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS — The women’s team finished sixth and the men placed seventh in the Big Ten Championships on Nov. 2 in Ann Arbor, MI. Senior Racheal Marchand (3rd, 20:28.5) was the top Hawkeye finisher for the women, earning a new personal best in the 6,000 meter as well as first team all-Big Ten honors. For the men, junior Jesse Luciano (9th, 24:52.2) was Iowa’s top finisher and earned second team all-Big Ten honors for his performance.
USTFCCCA WEEK SEVEN NATIONAL POLL – The women’s sixth place finish in the Big Ten Championships bumped the Hawkeyes up a spot to 20th in the week seven USTFCCCA national poll. This is Iowa’s highest ranking of the season after previously being ranked 21st and 27th in national polls.
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 NCAA Championships will be held in Terre Haute, IN, on Nov 24, for teams that qualify.