PEORIA, Ill. – The Iowa State men’s cross country team scored huge points towards an NCAA at-large selection today, placing third at the Midwest Regional on the Newman Golf Course. Three Cyclones put on all-region performances in Dan Curts, Martin Coolidge and Christian DeLago.
The Cyclones started conservatively and moved up throughout the race, a strategy that has become very common for Iowa State under second-year head coach Martin Smith. The team sat as low as eighth at the 4K mark before moving up the leaderboard.
ISU freshman Dan Curts was the Cyclones’ top overall finisher for the second-straight meet, placing fifth with a time of 30:16.4. Curts was among the field’s top-20 for the entirety of the race and used a strong kick over the final kilometer, knocking off seven runners en route to his fifth-place finish. The Ellsworth, Maine, native was also the race’s top overall freshman.
Coolidge and DeLago also earned spots on the regional podium, placing 18th and 24th. The two crossed the line in 30:35.2 and 30:42.2, respectively. Coolidge and DeLago both ran outside of the top-50 over the opening half of the race, coming on strong over the final 3K to earn all-region accolades.
Toby Hardwick and Edward Kemboi finished neck-and-neck again this week, finishing 31st and 32nd, respectively. Hardwick crossed the line in 30:48.7, with Kemboi on his heels in 30:49.6.
The Cyclone men posted a 33.2-second spread across scoring runners.
Iowa State finished ahead of in-state rival Iowa, picking up two points in the Iowa Corn CyHawk Series.
Next Up
With the third-place finish, the Cyclones will hope to receive an at-large selection to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. The selections will be announced at the conclusion of regional competition.
Team Results
1. Oklahoma State – 63
2. Tulsa – 77
3. Iowa State – 110
4. Minnesota – 128
5. Illinois – 137
Individual Results
1) Kirubel Erassa, Oklahoma State, 30:09.6; 5) Dan Curts, Iowa State, 30:16.4; 18) Martin Coolidge, Iowa State, 30:35.2; 24) Christian DeLago, Iowa State, 30:42.2; 31) Toby Hardwick, Iowa State, 30:48.7; 32) Edward Kemboi, Iowa State, 30:49.6; Nathan Rodriguez, Iowa State, 30:53.7; 42) Brian Llamas, Iowa State, 30:55.8
