ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams took to the road for the first time in 2022, competing at the Big Ten Preview. Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Rutgers had athletes in both races. Northwestern was represented in the women’s race, while Michigan State only had entries in the men’s race.
In the women’s 6,000-meter race, Iowa had strong showings from senior Emma Gordon (21:44.5), who finished 16th overall, junior Kelli Tosic (22:20.5) and freshman Jalyssa Blazek (22:24.1). Senior Maddie Block finished fourth for Iowa, setting a PR of 22:48.0. Junior Brooke McKee rounded out the top five Hawkeye finishers with a time of 22:51.9.
Iowa posted an average time of 22:25.8 and came away with 147 points. Addie Engel of Ohio State earned first place with a time of 20:54.4, while Michigan won the team title with 22 points.
The men’s 6,000-meter race saw four Hawkeye PRs and two top-10 individual finishes. The Hawkeyes were paced by the season debuts of senior Nick Trattner and junior Max Murphy. Trattner led the Hawkeyes with an eighth-place finish and PR of 18:18.3, while Murphy crossed the line in ninth at 18:19.1. Sophomore Ian Geisler sped across the line with a personal best of 18:39.2, good for 15th overall. Sophomore Jack Pendergast finished 18th, recording a PR of 18:43.5. Freshman Miles Sheppard rounded out the top five Hawkeye finishers with a time of 18:53.7. Another Iowa PR was set by senior Konnor Sommer (18:59.2).
The Hawkeyes had an average time of 18:34.8 and earned 75 points, placing third as a team. Arjun Jha led Michigan to the team title, crossing the line in 17:57.0. Michigan State finished in second.
QUOTING COACH HASENBANK
“Our primary objective was to get to Ann Arbor and preview the Big 10 course. We got that done. On the men’s side, we had a solid showing with the gap between our 1-5 runners being 35 seconds. I felt that Jack and Ian really raced smart today and showed what they can do and what we need them to do. Miles had another good race as well. Of course, having Nick and Max up front is crucial with the team scoring. Moving forward, the goal is to keep training at a high level until we compete again at our next meet. On the women’s side, I thought we should have engaged in the race a little sooner with a few key runners, as a result we had a big spread at the end. Those that got out had a good result while we really played catch up at the end and had some that could not close the gaps. That has to be a focus, close up that gap and race much better as a unit. We had a gap of over a minute from 1-5. We probably need to cut that in half by the end of the season. From an individual standpoint, Emma Gordon had another excellent race. Kelli and Maddie competed well too. The two performances that really stood out came from freshmen Jalyssa Blazek and Rowan Boulter. I thought they competed exceptionally well. Jalyssa ran in our number three spot and Just continues to impress me”.
Up next for the Hawkeyes is the Redbird Invite in Normal, Ill. on September 16.
HAWKEYE RESULTS
Women’s 6,000-meters
16. Emma Gordon – 21:44.5
32. Kelli Tosic – 22:20.5
33. Jalyssa Blazek – 22:24.1
41. Maddie Block – 22:48.0
45. Brooke McKee – 22:51.9
60. Ellie Twedt – 23:14.3
61. Rowan Boulter – 23:15.8
63. Abby Ryon – 23:30.1
64. Amber Aesoph – 23:35.9
65. Micah Poellet – 23:40.8
73. Claire Edmondson – 23:58.2
Men’s 6,000-meters
8. Nick Trattner – 18:18.3
9. Max Murphy – 18:19.1
20. Ian Geisler – 18:39.2
24. Jack Pendergast – 18.43.5
36. Miles Sheppard – 18:53.7
38. Konnor Sommer – 18:59.2
44. Aidan King – 19:05.6
46. Will Ryan – 19:15.4
50. Carson Houg – 19:23.4
52. Hayden Kuhn – 19:26.5
54. Yohana Yual – 19:28.8
67. Isaac Hartman – 20:12.5