Cross Country Competes at Big Ten Championships

Nov. 1, 2009

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The University of Iowa cross country teams were at Penn State University Sunday for the 2009 Big Ten Championships, with both teams taking sixth place. The men’s squad ran a 5.2 mile race with senior Jesse Luciano leading the Hawkeyes with a 13th place, 25:42.6 finish. The women ran a 6,000-meter race, with their top performer, sophomore Betsy Flood, earning a new collegiate-best with her 26th place finish of 21:29. Wisconsin won the men’s competition while host Penn State won the women’s competiton.

The men’s team improved from last year’s seventh place finish. Luciano led the Hawkeyes in last season’s Big Ten Championships as well, earning 2008 all-Big Ten honors in the process. However, this is the first time this season he has been in front. That’s because freshman Jeffrey Thode has led Iowa in all four previous meets this season, but he finished just behind Luciano this weekend, finishing 17th with a time of 25:52.1. The rest of the men’s squad finished in a later pack led by junior Mark Battista (32nd, 26:18.8).

Flood’s new season-best time of 21:29 places her ninth all-time at Iowa in the 6,000-meters. Four other Hawkeyes earned new collegiate-bests as well: Senior Hannah Roeder (28th, 21:31), juniors Lauren Hardesty (31st, 21:32), Amanda Hardesty (33rd, 21:38), and sophomore Lindsay Anderson (55th, 22:17). The team’s sixth place finish matches their 2008 Big Ten Championships results, despite the loss of former standout athlete Racheal Marchand, who earned first-team all-Big Ten in 2008.

The championship portion of the schedule continues for Iowa on Nov 14 at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet, hosted by Missouri State University at Springfield, MO. Thirty-three teams from ten different conferences will meet to determine the top regional teams as well as attempt to earn automatic and at-large bids to the NCAA Championships.

2009 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM RESULTS
MEN’S TEAMS (5.2 MILES)

1. Wisconsin – 26 points
2. Ohio State – 91
3. Minnesota – 97
4. Indiana – 106
5. Michigan – 117
6. Iowa – 149
7. Illinois – 166
8. Michigan State – 188
9. Penn State – 232
10. Purdue – 279

WOMEN’S TEAMS (6,000-METERS)
1. Penn State – 71
2. Illinois – 77
3. Minnesota – 80
4. Michigan – 122
5. Michigan State – 137
6. Iowa – 150
7. Indiana – 161
8. Ohio State – 164
9. Purdue – 204
10. Wisconsin – 254
11. Northwestern – 326

Complete Men’s Results in PDF Format

Complete Women’s Results in PDF Format