The Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams capped off their 2021 regular season campaigns Friday afternoon in Peoria, Illinois, at the Bradley Pink Classic. The Hawkeye women finished second in the event and the men placed fourth.

Freshman Brooke McKee led the way for the Iowa women in the 6,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 15th place. McKee ran a career-best time, wrapping the race up in just over 21 minutes.

Junior Gabby Skopec and freshman Lauren McMahon finished just behind Mckee in 23rd and 26th, respectively. Seniors Jessica McKee and Emma Gordon rounded out Iowa’s top five, placing 35th and 37th.

“Our women ended up with a good result, despite a rough start, tactically, ” Iowa head cross country coach Randy Hasenbank said in a release. “Several of the women were back in 60-70th place at the 1K mark and managed to work themselves up into the top 30 by the end. Brooke and Lauren ran with a lot of energy today and really helped carry us through the first half of the race.”

Sophomore Nick Trattner was the highest finisher on the Hawkeye men’s team, placing eighth in the 8,000-meter competition. Trattner has now recorded four-straight top-10 finishes.

Senior Noah Healy trailed Trattner, placing 19th. Iowa’s other participants — freshmen Kal Lewis, Jack Pendergast, and Ian Geisler — placed 29th, 32nd, and 62nd, respectively.

“The men took a lot more risks today, which we needed to do,” Hasenbank said in a release. “For the most part, we competed really well. Nick and Noah led us again, and that is important. We need the consistency up front from these guys. Kal Lewis made some improvements on the course today and closed the gap between our two and three runners.”

BIG PICTURE

The Bradley Pink Classic was Iowa cross country’s last regular season meet of the season. Both the Hawkeye men and women will participate in their first postseason event next week.

CLOSING THE GAP

The Hawkeye men have tried to shorten the gap between their top two runners — Trattner and Healy — and the rest of their squad all year long. On Friday, Lewis and Pendergast both accomplished that goal, finishing fewer than 15 spots behind Trattner and Healy.

UP NEXT

Iowa cross country will head to University Park, Pennsylvania, for the Big Ten Championships Oct. 29. The event’s first race will begin at 9:45 a.m.