Harriers Prepare for Big Ten Championships

Oct. 27, 2008

Oct. 27, 2008

THIS WEEK — Iowa’s women’s and men’s teams will participate in the Big Ten Championships, hosted by the University of Michigan, on Sunday, Nov. 2. The women will run a 6,000 meter race at 10:45 a.m. ET, and the men will run an 8,000 meter race at 11:30 a.m.

PRE-NATIONALS RESULTS — Senior Racheal Marchand (11th, 20:27.9) and junior Jesse Luciano (55th, 24:31.0) again set the pace for their respective teams, helping to earn the women a 9th place finish (283 pts.) in the 6,000 meter race and the men an 18th place finish (512 pts.) in the 8,000 meter race. Marchand recorded a new personal best, beating her previous best 6,000 meter time set at Pre-Nationals two years ago.

WOMEN EARN NATIONAL RANKING – Coach Layne Anderson’s squad made its way back into the national rankings at 21st in the most recent USTFCCCA national poll. This is its highest national ranking of the season after ranking 27th in the pre-season and week one national polls, then dropping out of the week two and three polls. Seven of the eleven Big Ten teams are nationally ranked, making the Big Ten the most represented conference in the top 30.

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 Iowa’s 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 — Both teams will compete in the NCAA Regional meet in Stillwater, OK, on Nov 15.

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