By Adam Hensley
Iowa cross-country continued its exceptional start to the season on Sept. 10 at the Illinois State Invitational, with the men winning their division and the women finishing second.
Iowa’s 44 points on the men’s side of competition was its best outing of the season. Senior Ben Anderson led the way for the Hawkeyes with a time of 25:12.32 in the 8,000 meters. He finished second behind meet-winner Keith Meyer of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
“I felt confident,” Anderson said. “I felt good going into the race. I think I just went out and executed and slowly picked off people as the race went on. The goal was to get through 5,000 [meters] comfortably, and that’s what I did.”
Hawkeye junior Michael Melchert finished right behind him, coming in fourth at 25:23.56. Sophomore Daniel Soto, freshman Nathan Mylenek, and sophomore Ian Eklin each finished in the top-14.
In total, the men placed all seven of their point-scorers in the top-21 spots, including six in the top-20.
“Pack running is huge for us,” Anderson said. “If we want to be successful in the championship portion of our season, we need to be as consistent as possible. Running with the guys you train with is a huge boost.”
Iowa’s average time was 13 seconds under that of the second-place team, Eastern Illinois, which finished 28 points behind the Hawkeyes.
For the women, senior Tess Wilberding and junior Madison Waymire placed second and third in the 5,000 meters.
“I went into [the race] looking to run with my team as a pack early on and just had fun with it,” Wilberding said.
This marks the second time this season the duo finished in the top three places.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Wilberding said. “It helps build momentum we have going into the rest of the season.”
Andrea Shine was the next Hawkeye runner to cross the finish line, coming in eighth (18:08.18).
Kelly Breen (16th), Claire Dupuis (28th), Julie Hollensbe (37th), and Marta Gonzalez (39th) made up the rest of the runners who scored points for Iowa.
Northern Illinois won the women’s race, scoring 39 points. Five of their top seven runners placed in the top 12.
So far this season, Iowa has improved in its first two meets in comparison with the start of the 2015 season.
Last year at the Illinois State Invitational, the Iowa men (80 points) finished second and the women (110 points) finished fifth.
Something else worthy of note, point totals in both meets so far this season have dropped significantly — a sign of improvement but also a sign of much needed consistency and pack running.
This season, the men beat their 2015 Illinois State Invitational point total by 36 points. The women beat theirs by 23 points.
While the momentum is building, Iowa gets more time for training this week.
After racing in back-to-back weeks, the Hawkeyes get a week off. Their next meet, the Roy Griak Invitational, will be held Sept. 24 in Minneapolis.