The Iowa men’s and women’s cross country teams will continue postseason action on Friday with the NCAA Midwest Regional race. The event will be held in Columbia, Missouri, and take place at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

The women will run their typical 6,000-meter race while the men will run a season-high 10,000 meters.

This week, the Hawkeyes will be facing more teams than they have in any single competition this season. The men will take on 29 other squads while the women will battle 33.

“The meet is so dense with runners, there are really going to have to be some tactical things we have to be prepared to do for a good result,” Iowa coach Randy Hasenbank said. “A lot of it will come to early tactics and being patient and not overrunning the front … Both teams have their specific tasks, and we will see if they get after it.”

Iowa ran this course earlier this year. The Hawkeyes competed in the Gans Creek Invitational on Sept. 30. The men finished sixth and the women finished seventh. Both the men’s and women’s races had more than 20 teams competing respectively.

“It was one of our best races,” junior Nick Trattner said of the Gans Creek Invitational. “Definitely super confident in myself and the course. It is a 10,000-meter so you have to be smart so you can feel good late.”

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The women will kick off the race at 11 a.m. with the men will follow at noon.

Last time out

The Hawkeyes competed in the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the University of Michigan Golf Course. Trattner led the way for the men while senior Emma Gordon finished first among the Hawkeye women.

The men’s team placed seventh out of 12, and the women finished last of 14 teams.

Trattner tallied a 29th-place finish. Freshman Max Murphy and senior Konnor Sommer trailed Trattner in 37th and 57th, respectively. Sophomore Jack Pendergast and freshman Miles Sheppard finished not far behind, crossing the line in 68th and 70th place, respectively.

For the women’s squad, Gordon’s 67th-place finish marked the fifth time she has led the Hawkeyes this season. Following Gordon were sophomores Brooke Mckee and Kelli Tosic in 88th and 102nd, respectively. Senior Maddie Block and sophomore Amber Aesoph clocked in at 104th and 114th, respectively.

“The results we have seen from this group in the past on the cross country course, we are better than that,” Hasenbank said. “Our goal is to get our confidence up and compete at a high level. I think they are ready.”

Following this race, Iowa will have to qualify as a team or have individual athletes make it to NCAA Nationals in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Nov. 19.