Iowa sophomore Jeff Thode ran a 10,000-meter time of 30:21.4 at the NCAA Cross-Country Championship in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 22. The time was good for 30th place and All-America status.

The top 40 finishers among the 246 competitors earned the honors. Thode followed up a qualifying regional performance head coach Larry Wieczorek called "the smartest race he’s ever run" with another patient outing in which he let the race’s leaders set the pace and waited in a comfortable pack before making his move later in the race.

"I settled back into the pack and just followed the plan," he said.

The sophomore led Iowa in every meet this year. He was the lone Hawkeye participant in the championship meet.

Thode said he wasn’t affected by the intense atmosphere of the national championship meet and he approached it as he would any other meet.

"I didn’t feel intimidated at all," he said. "Everyone there was at my pace, so I just had to stick with my game plan."

Thode became the sixth All-American in Hawkeye history, the first since Stetson Steele accomplished the feat in 1998. He said the successful cross-country season gave him high hopes for and confidence about the upcoming track season, which will begin on Jan. 8 with the Illinois Open in Champaign, Ill.

— by Sam Louwagie

Iowa junior Betsy Flood took 66th place out of 253 runners at the NCAA cross-country meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 22.

She crossed the finish line in 21.06.2 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. Flood was the only Hawkeye woman to compete in the competition.

Flood earned an at-large bid to the championships after a standout performance at the NCAA Midwest Regional. She received all-region honors when she finished ninth with a collegiate-best time of 20:22.71.

She also had a strong race at the Big Ten championships in Verona, Wis., where she finished eighth with a time of 20:36 to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors.

— by Maggie Cunningham