Hawkeye cross-country brings home leading finishes after a weekend of heavy competition
Iowa cross-country returned home with a gold medal after racing Saturday in the Woody Greeno Invite hosted by Nebraska.
Senior Andrea Shine gives a pep talk before the Hawkeye Invitational at Ashton Cross Country course on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018. The Hawkeyes were defeated by Iowa State 24-56. Andrea Shine placed first in the Women’s 4K with a time of 14:07.5.
September 16, 2018
Hawkeye cross-country had a solid day at the Woody Greeno Invitational on Sept. 15, hosted by Nebraska — the men placed second behind Minnesota, and the women placed third behind Michigan (1) and South Dakota (2).
Senior Andrea Shine crossed the 6,000-meter finish line first in 21:15.1 and won the Woody Greeno for the second-consecutive season. In 2017, Shine finished with a time of 21:39.9; this year, she quickened not only her pace but the pace of the entire 6K by almost 25 seconds.
“On the women’s side, Andie [Shine] opened her senior campaign in style,” head coach Randy Hasenbank said in a release. “It is hard to win a college race, and she went out and did it.”
The veteran harrier’s strong finish was followed by four Hawkeyes: Megan Schott finished 13th (22:03.1), Anna Hostetler placed 18th (22:10.5), Jessica McKee was 45th (23.05.1), and Kylie Latham finished 47th (23:13.8).
This performance resulted in a respectable third-place title as a team, but the recurring focus for the Hawkeye women will be compacting the top finishers.
“What we need to work on is the gaps,” Hasenbank said in a release. “We will close that up over time, because a lot of new faces just ran their first [6,000 meters]. By the end of the season, they will be ready to race the [6,000 meters].”
The Hawkeye men do not face the same challenge.
All five scorers finished in the top-25 of the 8,000 meters, with senior Daniel Soto leading the Hawkeye harriers for the second time this season. Soto placed third with a personal best of 24:45.59, and junior Nathan Mylenek followed at 25:08.6 in sixth.
“Dan Soto competed very well with some elite talent up front, including an Olympian,” Hasenbank said. “He is fit and confident. Nate ran a smart race today and is getting back to form.”
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Following for Iowa men was junior Brandon Cooley at 12th (25:33.3), senior Bailey Hesse-Withbroe at 22th (25:47.0), and freshman Noah Healy at 25th (25:49.6).
Each race provides the Hawkeyes a chance to assess themselves against the competition, but the Woody Greeno provided a little extra information this year.
The 2018 Big Ten Championships will be held at the same course, which resulted in the presence of four other Big Ten schools at the invitational this past weekend. The women from Michigan and Rutgers competed, as did the men from Minnesota. Iowa and Nebraska were the only schools that had both squads competing.
The Hawkeyes left Nebraska with a preview of the terrain and competition they will face in late October.
Iowa cross-country will have a nearly two-week break before it heads to Indiana to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 28.
