IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action after an off week, following the Gans Creek Classic. The Hawkeyes hit the road for the third time this season as they travel to Peoria, Illinois, for the Bradley Pink Classic at Newman Golf Course on Friday. The women’s “B” race will take place at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men’s “B” race at 2:15 p.m. The women’s Red “A” race will begin at 3 p.m., followed by the men’s Red “A” race at 3:45 p.m. All race times are CT.
IN THE RANKINGS
The University of Iowa men’s cross country team is ranked No. 10 in the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Week Four poll, and the Hawkeye women head into the weekend ranked eighth in the region. In the USTFCCCA Week Four National rankings, Wisconsin sits atop the Big Ten men’s side as the nation’s 11th-ranked squad, and is joined in the top 30 by No. 15 Michigan. Six Big Ten women’s teams occupy spots in the national top 30, led by Minnesota at No. 7.
LAST TIME OUT
The women’s team notched its third top-three team finish of the season in as many races at the Gans Creek Classic. The Hawkeye women took third place with 101 points, and were once again led by sophomore Kelli Tosic, who finished 12th and set a new 6K personal best in 21:24.8. The men made moves throughout the race to finish fifth in the team standings with 138 points. All five scoring Hawkeyes placed in the top-30 of the women’s race. Junior Gabby Skopec finished 20th in 21:34, freshman Brooke McKee was 21st (21:35.6) and seniors Emma Gordon and Jessica McKee finished 22nd (21:36.2) and 27th (21:45.9), respectively. The first five to cross the finish line, as well as freshmen Lauren McMahon (21:51.7) and Miriam Sandeen (21:52.7), set new 6K personal-bests. The men’s top five all broke the 25-minute barrier, led by senior Noah Healy who posted a career-best time of 24:08.4 to finish fifth — his second top-five finish this season. Sophomore Nick Trattner crossed next for Iowa, recording a new personal best of 24:16.6 to finish ninth and record his third-consecutive top-10 finish. Sophomores Jack Pendergast and Kal Lewis, and senior Jeff Roberts were within five seconds of one another, finishing 39th (24:54.7), 44th (24:57.3) and 46th (24:59.4), to round out scoring for the Hawkeyes while all setting new personal-bests.
TRATTNER MAKING HISTORY
Nick Trattner is the first underclassmen in over a decade to lead the Hawkeye men for the first two races of the season since Jeff Thode in 2010. Trattner finished third at the Hawkeye Invite and sixth at the Dirksen-Greeno Invite. Trattner added a ninth-place finish on Oct. 1 at the Gans Creek Classic. Thode brought home a third-place finish and a victory in those races and went on to lead Iowa in every race that season. Thode is one of the most decorated Hawkeyes in history, recording two individual National Championship appearances and one All-American honor in 2010 placing 30th.