Iowa City, IOWA — The University of Iowa cross country teams capped off their seasons, hosting the NCAA Midwest Regional at the Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday. The Hawkeye men finished 13th in a 28-team field, and the women were 14th in a field of 32 teams. Oklahoma State claimed the men’s title and Minnesota came away with the women’s crown.
In wind and snow, 22 athletes broke the 16-year old Ashton Cross Country Course 10,000-meters record, led by Iowa State’s Wesley Kiptoo (30:17.81) who topped the previous record by 34.19 seconds.
The Iowa men were led by senior Noah Healy (31:33.6; 46th) for the second time this season, with freshman Kal Lewis (52nd) and sophomore Nick Trattner (64th) close behind. Freshmen Jack Pendergast (95th) and Ian Geisler (119th) rounded out scoring for the Hawkeyes.
In the women’s 6,000-meter race, freshman Lauren McMahon led Iowa — finishing 56th in 21:43.9. The McKee sisters were next in for the Hawkeyes with senior Jessica McKee (58th) finishing seconds before her freshman sister Brooke (62nd). Sophomore Amber Aesoph (102nd) and junior Gabby Skopec (113th) were fourth and fifth in for the Hawkeyes to round out scoring.
Next up, Iowa kicks off its indoor track and field season at the indoor track facility in Iowa City, hosting the Jimmy Grant Invitational on December 10 and 11.
Hear From Head Coach Randy Hasenbank
“On the men’s side, we had five guys running their first 10K race. There are a lot of older teams due to COVID, so we knew it would be hard to have a great result against some of those top teams. For the most part, it’s a young team that needs to improve a lot, and they will. When they get in years three, four and five, they will be doing good work out here. I am excited about the potential of the group.”
“Noah [Healy] did a great job leading us. Kal [Lewis] is a mile runner and I thought he did a fantastic job covering 10K, considering that his real protentional is in the 800 meters and the mile. He is a 1:50 800-meter guy running the 10K in the fall, which is really tough thing to do. Nick [Trattner] wasn’t feeling great today, but he will be a really important piece for us down the road, and the other guys benefited from the experience.”
“Brooke [McKee] got out like she had the entire season. She has a lot of courage, and she wants to be a front runner. She will be successful because she is not afraid to go out and lock horns with the front runners. At about 1,500 meters, she fell down. That costed her a lot of space, but for the most part, she competed very well in her first regional. I’ve had runners come into this meet and finish 90th as freshmen, and win this meet their senior year. Lauren [McMahon] was the first one in, and if that is their starting point this is a fantastic performance by those two. Jess [McKee] has dealt with a knee issue the entire year and she did a great job battling. I was proud of her. Amber [Aesoph] ran very well. She is here for the 1,500-meter, but she did a solid job.”
Hawkeye Results:
Men: 13th / 375 points
46. Noah Healy (31:33.6)
52. Kal Lewis (31:38.7)
64. Nick Trattner (31:56.8)
95. Jack Pendergast (32:27.9)
119. Ian Geisler (32:53.7)
126. Aidan King (32:58.0)
159. Konnor Sommer (33:32.3)
Women: 14th/ 338 points
56. Lauren McMahon (21:43.9)
58. Jessica McKee (21:44.7)
62. Brooke McKee (21:47.6)
102. Amber Aesoph (22:21.2)
113. Gabby Skopec (22:31.1)
116. Emma Gordon (22:32.1)
174. Wren Renquist (23:23.9)