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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams start their postseason run at the Big
Ten Championships in Minneapolis, on Sunday. The women’s 6,000-meters begins at 10 a.m. (CT)
and the men’s 8,000-meters follow at 11 a.m. on the Les Bolstad Golf Course.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The event is televised live on Big Ten Network. Results will be posted on the Iowa cross country
Twitter account: @Iowa XC_TF and online at hawkeyesports.com.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hawkeyes split up to run two races on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15. The first race was the Bradley Classic
in Peoria, Illinois. The women placed 24th and the men placed 16th. The team set 11 personal
bests during the two races.
Freshman Claire Dupuis led the women, placing 40th overall with a career-best 21:49. Freshman
Julie Hollensbe finished second for the Hawkeyes, recording a time of 22:37. On the men’s side,
freshmen Nathan Mylenek, Brandon Cooley, and Luke Sampson finished first, second, and third
for the Hawkeyes, respectively. Mylenek and Cooley both recorded career-bests while sophomores
Cole Mullins and Khallin Khan also notched career-best times.
The next day, Iowa competed at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana in preparation for the postseason.
Senior Tess Wilberding continued to lead Iowa, finishing the 6,000-meters in 21:46. Sophomore
Lauren Opatrny followed, racing to a career-best 21:52 and sophomore Andrea Shine was
a couple seconds shy of her season best with a 21:56. The men were led by senior Ben Anderson
(25:19) for the third time this season, while seniors Anthony Gregorio (25:35) and Kevin Docherty
(26:53) recorded season bests.
LES BOLSTAD ROUND 2
The Hawkeyes will return to Minneapolis for the second time this season. Iowa competed at the
Les Bolstad Golf Course at the annual Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 24. The men finished 15th and
the women were 24th.
LAST YEAR AT BIG TENS
In 2015, the Hawkeyes traveled to Evanston, Illinois, to compete in the Big Ten Championships. The
team finished in 10th place overall. Michael Melchert and Madison Waymire both had career days,
placing in Iowa’s All-Time list in the 8,000-meters and 6,000-meters, respectively.
IN THE RANKINGS
The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams remained in the USTFCCCA Midwest
Regional Rankings for the fifth straight week following the release of the Oct. 17 polls. The
women are No. 12 while the men are No. 14.
WILBERDING CONTINUES STELLAR SEASON
Senior Tess Wilberding has excelled in the 2016. Wilberding recorded her first career win at the
Hawkeye Invite on Sept. 2 and followed with a second-place finish a week later at the Illinois
State Invite. Wilberding has been Iowa’s leading runner in every race this season and is seeking to
become the third runner since 2000 to complete that feat (Arens 2000, Waymire 2015). Wilberding
ranks in Iowa’s top 10 all-time performances in the 3,000-meters.
HASENBANK TAKES CROSS COUNTRY LEAD
Randy Hasenbank was named interim associate head cross country coach/ assistant track and field
coach in August. Hasenbank spent the past five seasons at Loyola University Chicago where he
won numerous accolades, including being named Horizon League Coach of the Year five times as
well as coaching nine All-Americans.
HAWKEYES IN THE TOP 10
Junior Michael Melchert placed among Iowa’s top 10 all-time performers in his first race in 2016.
The Monticello, Iowa, native broke an 11 year-old-record set by Eric MacTaggart in the 6,000-meters
at the Hawkeye Invitational on Sept. 2 with a time of 18:12. On the women’s side, senior Tess
Wilberding (10:20.4) and junior Madison Waymire (10:21.9) broke into the top 10 at the Hawkeye
Invite, placing fifth and tying for sixth in Iowa history, respectively, in the women’s 3,000-meters.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
The men’s cross country team added 21 student-athletes to its 2016 roster including 16 women
and six men. Brandon Cooley, Adam Jones, Nathan Mylenek, Luke Sampson and Karson Sommer
join the men’s team. Taylor Arco, Grace Coen, Amber Decker, Alex Dodds, Claire Dupuis, Maria
Eastman, Lauren Gibbs, Julie Hollensbe, Marlie Houston, Mallory King, Hunter Koenigsfeld, Tia
Saunders, Haley Schroder, Macie Weber, and Lindsay Welker join the women’s team.
HAWKEYES EXCEL IN CLASSROOM
Eight current Hawkeye student-athletes were named to the 2015 Big Ten Fall Academic All-Conference
team — Kevin Docherty, Marta Bote Gonzalez, Kelly Breen, Nate Ferree, Daniel Gardarsson,
Anthony Gregorio, Daniel Huff, and Tess Wilberding. Gregorio and Gonzalez were named Big
Ten Distinguished Scholars by being letterwinners and maintaining a Grade Point Average (GPA)
of 3.7 or higher in at least their second academic year.
HAWKEYES HOST NCAA REGIONAL
The Hawkeyes are proud to be hosting the 2016 NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 11 at the Ashton
Cross Country Course in Iowa City. The women’s 6,000-meter race begins at 11 a.m. (CT) and the
men’s 10,000-meter race starts at 12 p.m. (CT).
