By Adam Hensley
Sophomore Andrea Shine is quickly making a name for herself in Iowa cross-country, as she continues to climb up the scoring sheet in each meet.
The Crystal Lake, Illinois, native shone in the Regional Preview on Oct. 1, finishing 10th in a competitive field. Her 21:51.7 time in the 6,000 meters ranks as her best finish this season in that race.
“A lot of it is just confidence,” she said. “Last year, as a true freshman, I didn’t really know what I was doing in the race. Now, I know the girls who I can train with and stay in a pack with, and that helps. Plus, our training is really keeping me fresh while also giving me a good idea of what race pace should feel like.”
Head coach Randy Hasenbank agreed that Shine’s improvement coincides with her increasing knowledge.
As the schedule gets tougher and the Hawkeyes inch closer to championship season, the coach believes Shine will continue to grow on a bigger stage.
“I think she’s starting to realize her talent,” Hasenbank said. “Racing to her potential will take experience in big races — luckily for us, we have a lot of big races on our schedule. I think you’ll continue to see her improve. She’s done a fantastic job.”
So far this season, Shine has finished in the top 10 twice. She’s been a consistent scorer for Iowa as well, finishing in the top-three scoring positions in the past three meets.
Tess Wilberding, who has been Iowa’s top finisher in every meet this season, was quick to respond when asked about Shine’s rise in racing.
“She’s been running awesome,” Wilberding said. “We’re together in a pack at the beginning of the races. She helped me a ton last race. I think we work really well together. She’s been killing it.”
Regional Preview showcases young talent
Iowa rested some of its top runners at the regional preview. Ben Anderson, Michael Melchert, and Madison Waymire all sat out the race, providing their teammates with an opportunity to prove themselves.
On the men’s side, sophomore Daniel Soto showed his ability to lead the pack. Sticking up with transfer student Adam Jones (who competed unattached), Soto was the top finisher for Iowa.
“I think the past couple of meets I haven’t been able to find the front very well, kind of been lost in the shuffle of everyone,” he said. “[Saturday] I was able to get to the front and dictate how the race went, hit my stride and get comfortable.”
Following Soto’s lead, freshman Luke Sampson finished fourth in the meet, the highest finish for a freshman this season for the Hawkeyes.
Two freshmen on the women’s team, Julie Hollensbe and Claire Dupuis, quietly finished as the fourth- and fifth-best runners on the team at the Regional Preview.
Hollensbe (22:22.6) and Dupuis (22:23.9) placed 21st and 22nd.
Practice with pack running
The competition field at the Regional Preview was smaller than the past few races. The women’s 6,000-meters featured seven teams, and the men’s 8,000 totaled three.
Despite smaller numbers, the Hawkeyes used it to their advantage. Pack running is always the goal in cross-country, and this meet provided both teams with opportunities to perfect the art.
Looking up the definition of pack running in the dictionary, readers would come face-to-face with the score sheet from the men’s 8K. Iowa took the first eight spots, then had three more runners score in the next six. The men scored 15 points — yes, that’s not a typo — and it was obvious halfway through the meet when almost the entire team made up the top pack.
The women failed to achieve a pack that large but kept their top six runners within the top-30 places. Only one other team (South Dakota) did so.