By Adam Hensley
Not wanting to be haunted by the ghosts of Big Ten’s past, Iowa cross-country turns its focus to the NCAA regional — the second meet of championship season.
And for good reason.
The Hawkeyes finished dead last (12th place) on the men’s 8,000-meter run and 11th (out of 14 teams) in the women’s 6,000 meters.
“We just have to put Big Tens behind us,” senior Ben Anderson said. “Obviously, it did not go how we wanted it to, but we are moving past it. But we are never going to forget that feeling, and we will use it to fuel our fire.”
Running in his final Big Ten Championship, Anderson snagged 54th place — the best finish on the men’s team.
Andrea Shine, who climbed her way to second on the team at the Big Tens, echoed Anderson’s comments, but she also views the upcoming NCAA regional as prime redemption.
“The race at Big Tens left a lot to be desired for a lot of us,” she said. “We have a lot more potential to run strong as a team than we showed on the course last Sunday. Knowing our potential and that we will be on our home course, regionals will serve as a way to show how strong of a team we can really be.”
Including 2016’s Big Ten meet, the Hawkeyes failed to place better than eighth in the past five conference championships.
This season, the men concluded with their worst finish since the conference expanded, starting with Nebraska in 2011. The women finished 10th for the third time in five years.
However, the Midwest Regionals have been much kinder to the Iowa.
From 2011-15, the men finished 15th or better every year – the women all but two. Each side has also registered two top-10 places.
Underclassmen thrown into the fire
Despite injuries plaguing the men’s team, head coach Randy Hasenbank viewed the Big Ten meet as an opportunity for the program’s underclassmen to gain valuable experience early on in their Hawkeye careers.
Six of the nine runners on the men’s team were freshmen and sophomores.
“I was proud of [the underclassmen] for making the travel roster,” Anderson said. “I know how hard they have had to work with the transition from high school. Nobody ran how he wanted to, but the experience has its value. Not finishing well should leave a bad taste in their mouths to motivate them for the years ahead.”
On the women’s side, Hasenbank suited up three freshmen and two sophomores.
Shine was one of those second-year Hawkeyes.
“I tried to stay strong during the 4-5K, when the course gets really tough, especially with tired legs,” she said. “Now, knowing I could stay strong and competitive at [that] point, I’ll have that as a key point to work [on] in the race at regionals.”
Injuries on the men’s side
Michael Melchert and Daniel Soto, two of the team’s top runners, did not compete in Minneapolis because of injuries.
Anderson noted that the team refuses to make excuses for its performance.
“[Melchert and Soto] obviously have their value, but in order to be a successful team, you need to have the next-man-up mentality,” he said.
Update on regional rankings
Both Iowa squads stood firm in the latest Midwest Regional polls, which released on Oct. 31. The men rank 14th, right behind Nebraska. Illinois jumped Iowa on the women’s side; however, with three teams previously above them falling below, the Hawkeyes held firm at 12th in the region.