The Iowa cross country program raced in its first away meet of the season on Friday evening. The Hawkeyes recorded eight new personal best performances and “gained confidence” along the way. 

The Hawkeyes traveled to Champaign, Illinois, on Sept. 13 to compete in the Big Ten Preview. The women ran 6,000 meters, and the men ran 8,000. This was Iowa’s first race at those distances in the 2024 season.

The women finished in fifth as a team, while the men placed seventh. 

“I felt really good about how the women competed,” Iowa distance coach Randy Hasenbank said. “We are gaining confidence, which drives improvement and great performance.”

The women collectively tallied 140 points. Fourth-years Miriam Sandeen and Amber Aesoph, third-year Rowan Boulter, and second-year Cameron Kalaway set personal bests during the race. 

Sandeen led the Hawkeyes in 22nd place. Close behind, Aesoph finished 24th. 

“[They] did an excellent job of establishing themselves up front for us,” Hasenbank said of the pair. 

First-years Elena Torres and Hillary Trainor and Boulter rounded out the scoring five. 

In the men’s race, second-year Miles Wilson was the first Hawkeye across the line. He also earned a new personal record, as did third-years Miles Sheppard, Hayden Kuhn, and Carson Houg.

The men’s squad earned 178 points, good for a seventh-place finish.

“For their first time at [an 8,000-meter race], I think they performed very well,” Hasenbank told HawkeyeSports. “As a team, we still have a lot of work to do. There is no margin for error, and we need the full lineup on the course to compete at a high level.”

Looking ahead

The Hawkeyes will take one week off from competition before traveling to Columbia, Missouri, for the Gans Greek Classic on Sept. 27.