Hawkeyes Tally 10 Personal Bests at Pre-National

Oct. 19, 2013

Men’s Results | Women’s Results

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The University of Iowa cross country teams recorded 10 personal best times at the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday. The men’s team tallied 677 team points to finish 24th out of 52 teams in the 8,000 meter blue race, while the women 13th (414 points) out of 35 teams in the women’s 6,000 meter white race. The event was held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on the campus of Indiana State University.

All five of the men’s scorers recorded personal best 8,000-meter times. Kevin Lewis paced the Hawkeyes for the third straight meet. The junior crossed the line in 24:15.09 to finished 53rd. Junior Ben Witt (24:48.71) and sophomore Nate Ferree (24:58.11) finished 128th and 153rd, respectively, while freshmen Quentin Shaffer (162nd; 25:01.01) and Kevin Docherty (181st; 25:05.61) rounded out the scoring for the Hawkeyes.

“I think we made a major improvement as a team,” said men’s head coach Larry Wieczorek. “We finished 24th and we came ranked way lower than that. Our top five guys made significant lifetime improvements. I’m pleased with the progress we made. I think this is a great step going forward into the championship season.”

The Hawkeye women’s team also tallied five personal best finishes on the afternoon. Katie Adams led the Iowa pack. The freshman clocked a time of 22:16.88 to finish 66th. Senior Shannon Maser (22:21.59) and sophomore Courtney Martin (22:22.54) finished 68th and 69th, respectively, while Tess Wilberding (86th; 22:36.41) and Rachel Price (130th; 23:03.69) rounded out the scoring.

“We competed hard through continuing adversity and finished with a good pack,” said head women’s coach Layne Anderson. “Our challenge remains moving our pack forward in the overall finish.”

The Hawkeyes travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Big Ten Championships of Nov. 3.