The Iowa cross country runners traveled to Columbia, Missouri, for the Gans Creek Classic on Friday morning. The Hawkeye women placed 12th, while the men came in 13th. 

Three third-years set new personal records in the men’s 8,000-meter race. Brayden Burnett finished in 43rd place with a time of 23:59.7. Will Ryan and Carson Houg followed closely behind with times of 24:05.4 and 24:49.5, respectively.

Second-year Miles Wilson, third-year Miles Sheppard, and first-year Kyle Montgomery joined Burnett and Ryan in the scoring five. 

On the women’s side, two underclassmen notched new 6,000-meter career bests.

First-year Elena Torres and second-year Clare Kelly ran times of 21:07.4 and 22:31.6, respectively. Torres was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after her performance at the Big Ten Preview on Sept. 13. 

“This is a well-deserved honor,” Iowa distance coach Randy Hasenbank told Hawkeye Sports. “[Torres] had a fantastic high school career. She prepared well over the summer and showed up fit and eager to compete.”

Joining Torres in the scoring five were fourth-year Amber Aesoph, first-year Hillary Trainor, and third-years Rowan Boulter and Jalysssa Blazek. 

Four runners represented the Black and Gold in the open races on Friday as well. 

For the men, first-year Jaxson Plumb posted a new personal record of 25:00.4. Fellow rookie Armaan Chopra did the same in 25:34.3.

In the women’s open 6,000-meter race, third-year Aleah Tenpas tallied a personal best of 22:33.1. Graduate student Abby Ryon was close behind in 23:22.6.

Up next

The Hawkeyes will take a month off of competition before gearing up for the Bradley Pink Classic. The meet will take place in Peoria, Illinois, on Oct. 27.