Iowa’s cross-country program split this past weekend, competing in two separate races — the Bradley Classic and the Pre-National meet.
On Oct. 14, the underclassmen competed in Peoria, Illinois, at the Bradley Classic. Combined, both the men and women’s squads achieved 11 personal-best times.
The men (16th) were led by freshman Nathan Mylenek, who ran a career-best 25:09.3 in the 8,000 meters. Fellow first-year Hawkeyes Brandon Cooley (59th) and Luke Sampson (83rd) added to Iowa’s top three places.
Freshmen Claire Dupuis (40th) and Julie Hollensbe (109th) and sophomore Ashley Espinosa (148th) rounded out the top three spots on the women’s team, which placed 24th.
Overall, St. Louis (men) and Colorado (women) won the meet.
At the Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Indiana, the men and women placed 35th and 38th, respectively.
Seniors Ben Anderson (25:19) and Tess Wilberding (21:46) led their respective units. Wilberding’s time was her second-fastest of the season.
Anderson finished 104th, and Wilberding finished 135th.
Sophomore Lauren Opatrny ran a career best time, 21:52, in route to finishing 157th. Fellow sophomore Andrea Shine finished 167th, with her time of 21:56.3 was only seconds short of her season-best performance.
Oregon won the meet on the men’s side, and Colorado claimed the women’s title. Both teams were the only squads to finish with fewer than 100 points.
Next up for the Hawkeyes will be the Big Ten Championship on Oct. 30, in| Minneapolis.
