The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Men’s cross-country likes chances at Big Ten Championship

When the Iowa men’s cross-country team lines up for competition on Nov. 1, the Hawkeyes will have two puzzle pieces that have been missing for almost the entire season.

For the Big Ten championship meet in State College, Pa., the Hawkeyes will have two top-five finishers back from the disabled list in cocaptain Brendan Camplin and sophomore Nick Holmes.

Both have been fighting injuries since mid-September.

“It’s been gradually getting better each week,” Camplin said about the nagging pain in his left foot. “This is the first week I feel confident to run again.”

Camplin, along with Holmes, will have to get back into running shape in a very short time if they wish to help Iowa compete against Penn State and the rest of the Big Ten.

“I feel like I still haven’t gotten my rhythm back,” Camplin said. “The best way to get better at running is to run. I’ve been doing the stationary bike, the elliptical, and cross training. Just trying to do as much as I could to stay in good shape.”

All 10 Big Ten schools with men’s cross-country programs will compete, with only nine runners allowed for each school. Northwestern is the lone school without a team.

Iowa will need contributions from all nine runners participating in the meet. The Blue-White Course, part of which doubles as a golf course, is said to be a difficult one.

“Coach [Larry Wieczorek] told us that the course starts really fast, mostly downhill,” said cocaptain Tommy Tate. “But the last mile will be straight uphill.”

Another physical challenge facing runners will be the course conditions. It snowed last weekend in State College, and it has been raining on and off all week. It doesn’t look like the downpour will let up any time soon, either.

“The forecast is for rain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,” Wieczorek said. “That can make a difference. Some guys don’t like to run in bad conditions, while others can plow through it.”

One Iowa runner who isn’t wary of the difficult terrain is standout freshman Jeffrey Thode.

Everything he has learned by studying the map points to a possibly excellent outing for the Schaumburg, Ill., native.

“It’s a one lap course, which I prefer,” Thode said. “The ground is pretty hard because it’s on a golf course, so it’s more like a track. I couldn’t ask for a better course.”

The meet will feature defending Big Ten champion and 15th-ranked Wisconsin, No. 18 Indiana, and Minnesota, which is led by defending individual conference champion Hassan Mead.

Thode has fared well against Big Ten competition this year, including a second-place finish at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. He defeated every Wisconsin runner then, and he will try to do the same this weekend.

“A lot of schools have some big runners,” he said. “Wisconsin, Illinois. They have big runners, but they haven’t run consistently. It doesn’t seem like it will be really hard, even though it is the Big Ten championship.”

In terms of whether the star freshman can continue his stellar campaign and defeat the All-American Mead, Wieczorek doesn’t have an answer. But he is willing to make a prediction.

“I don’t know if he can. Mead is one of the best in the country,” the coach said. “I think Thode [thinks he can], though. I know he will run out there and try to win it.”

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