Men’s team
The Iowa men’s cross-country squad traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana, Oct. 18 to compete at the Pre-National Invitational. As a team, the Hawkeyes finished 18th, led by sophomore Ben Anderson, who finished with a personal best of 25:17 to earn a 73rd place.
The Clive native has confidence that the Oct. 18 meet prepared his team for the Big Ten championships Nov. 2.
“It was our final race to work out any issues,” he said. “Now we know what we need to do, and we are going to execute for Big Tens.”
Iowa head coach Layne Anderson was certainly pleased with the sophomore’s performance this past weekend.
“Ben Anderson is racing at the highest level I’ve ever seen him race at, as a young guy,” the head coach said.
Six other runners competed in the race. Sophomores Nate Ferree (80/25:21), Anthony Gregorio (105/25:28), Kevin Docherty (141/25:44), Daniel Huff (226/26:21), and Taylor Soltys (270/26:48). Senior Ben Witt finished with a time of 25:36 to earn a 121st place.
Senior Kevin Lewis, who has been the team’s top runner for the past three meets, didn’t finish the race because of soreness in his knee.
“It’s a sharp pain that randomly goes through my knee,” he said. “It happens more frequently the faster I go.”
Women’s team
The Hawkeyes traveled back from Terre Haute with a third-place finish at the Pre-National Invitational. The 6,000-meter course was no challenge for Iowa as they got ready for the Big Ten championships.
The talk of the race this past weekend was sophomore Carolyn Newhouse, who led the Hawkeyes by clocking a personal best time of 22:27, finishing 31st overall.
This is Newhouse’s second top finish for the Hawkeyes; she came in 35th at the Notre Dame Invitational.
Another leading Hawkeye that helped keep Iowa on pace was sophomore Katie Adams. She finished with a time of 22:32 to place 35th overall.
“This meet was definitely a confidence booster for the team,” Adams said.
Three other Hawkeyes competed in Terre Haute: sophomore Samantha Zishka (22:57) and junior Jocelyn Todd (22:59) who crossed the finish line together placing 54th and 57th. They were followed by teammate Courtney Martin (23:10), who placed 73rd.
Follow @shelbystites and @marioxwilliams on Twitter for news, updates, and analysis about the Iowa women’s cross-country team.
