Hawkeyes Ready for NCAA Midwest Regional

Nov. 8, 2011

Weekly Release

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional. The event will be held Saturday in DeKalb, Ill.

NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL
The NCAA Midwest Regional will be hosted by the Northern Illinois University. The men’s 10K race is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. before the women’s 6K race at 1:15 p.m. The top two teams from every region will advance automatically to the national meet. The rest of the 31-team fi eld (13 at-large) will be announced on Sunday, no later than 7 p.m. ET.

2010 NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL
Two Hawkeyes earned NCAA All-Region honors last year as both the men and women placed seventh at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. Flood placed ninth with her collegiate best 6K performance (20:22.71). It was Flood’s fi rst all-region honor. Thode placed fi fth overall with a school record time of 29:55.78 in the 10K event.

IN THE RANKINGS
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are ranked in the USTFCCCA Regional rankings. The men’s team is ranked 15th in the Midwest Region, while the women are ranked fourth.

SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Iowa graduate student Mareike Schrulle and junior Cameron Rieger were both named 2011 Big Ten sportsmanship honorees. Athletes named to the list are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

MELANDER MAKES AN IMPACT
Senior McKenzie Melander has fi nished fi rst for the Hawkeyes in each of their last two meets. Melander fi nished 44th overall at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, before fi nishing 13th at the Big Ten Championships with a time of 20:41, 10 seconds faster than her pervious race. That time ranks 6th all-time at Iowa. Melander’s performance earned her second team all- Big Ten honors.

THODE CONTINUES STREAK
All-American junior Jeff Thode continued his personal streak of 10 straight meets as Iowa’s top fi nisher. Thode will try to continue his streak this Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

UP NEXT
The 2011 NCAA Championships will be held on Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind.