For all the uneasiness Iowa men’s cross-country head coach Larry Wieczorek had about scheduling a tough Northern Iowa squad in the season’s first meet, his fears proved to be unfounded. His team dominated the Panthers on Sept. 4 in the Hawkeye Invitational, 15-30, a perfect score.

While the Panthers’ feature a standout junior-college transfer in Steven Dak in addition to a pair of decorated underclassmen in freshman Andrew Nelson and sophomore Alex Mark, celebrated Iowa prospect Jeff Thode, last season’s Illinois 2A champion, took the individual crown at the Hawkeye Invitational.

Finishing the Ashton Cross-Country Course in a time of 18:21.70, the Shaumburg, Ill., native now ranks second all-time at Iowa in the 6,000-meter race.

Thode, winning his first collegiate race, was surprisingly calm after the race.

“I don’t feel anything,” Thode said. “It was just a dual meet. I treated it like a workout.”

Following the victory, Wieczorek was less reserved about his freshman standout’s first win.

“He comes in with great high-school credentials,” the coach said. “You got to have the horses to be successful. You can recruit the horses, but I challenge all my runners to become the horses Iowa needs.”

One runner Wieczorek said has “made himself into a thoroughbred” is Sam Bailin, who finished the race in third place behind Thode and Nick Holmes. Wieczorek said his constant progression into the front of the pack will prove integral to Iowa’s success.

“I was happy with my performance,” Bailin said. “I didn’t feel great going into it.”

Wieczorek was extremely pleased with his team’s performance. Iowa runners took the first seven finishes and had the entire top 10 save for eighth place, which went to Brett Eagan of Northern Iowa.

Around the 4,000-meter mark, the larger pack broke up. Thode, Holmes, and Bailin led the race, followed by a group consisting of Chase Kadlec, James Paul, and Mark Battista, who finished fourth, fifth, and sixth.

“I want people to say what a great group Iowa has,” Wieczorek said. “They stayed together in an entire pack and later stayed in smaller packs. We executed as a team.”

One of the “great” runners in the winning group was Holmes, who after winning last year’s Hawkeye Invitational, missed the rest of the season with an iliotibial band injury. For Holmes, scoring while staying healthy was a victory in itself.

“[My leg] feels good.” he said. “Hopefully, everything holds up. It felt good to get the first race out of the way.”

Fifth-year senior Brendan Camplin and All-Big Ten runner Jesse Luciano were held out of competition with minor injuries; they will be ready for the Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Sept. 26.

The addition of the two veterans should make for a formidable group heading into Big Ten competition.

Wieczorek left his team with a quotation from legendary Iowa football coach Hayden Fry.

“Only one person is going to be the No. 1 person,” Wieczorek said. “Hayden Fry’s quotation was, ‘The sun don’t shine on the same dog’s rump every day.’ ”