2013 Outdoor Ivy League Track and Field Championships

NCAA XC Countdown #26: Iowa State Women and Washington Men

Jul 29, 2013 by Isaac Wood

For the next month, The Wood Report will be counting down projected team finishes in this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN. Make sure to stay up-to-date with The Wood Report throughout the season. You should follow Isaac Wood on Twitter, too.

View the full NCAA Top 31 Countdown HERE.

#26

Iowa State

Head Coach: Andrea Grove-McDonough (1st Season)

2012 National Finish- 11th

Key Returners from 2012

Samantha Bluske (Sr., 16:22, 34:16)
Katy Moen (Jr., 16:34, 35:17)
Crystal Nelson (So., 16:31, 35:47)
Colleen Riley (So., 4:35 1500, 10:42 3k Steeple)

Impact Recruits/Transfers

Erin Hooker (Fr., 4 X NXN Nats qualifer, 11th NXN '11, 25th, '12, 10:25 3200m (alt.time))

Season Preview

The Women Cyclones are in a similar situation as the men heading into the 2013 season with Coach Ihmels out and Martin Smith in. The bad news is that Betsy Saina and Meghan Nelson are gone, the good news is the Coach Smith is a proven winner and will coach this team back to the National Championships without the two of them.

Iowa State looks to have four solid athletes returning from their top seven at Nats and Regionals, and although they are not their 1-2, they make up the core pack runners that every team so desperately needs.

The no. 1 returner for the Cyclones is Crystal Nelson, who was their solid no. 3 for the majority of the season behind Saina and the other Nelson. This Nelson, who did not have quite as good of a track season as Bluske, is now a sophomore and has a year of NCAA XC experience under her belt which will prove useful as she is now turned to as a leader to help the Cyclones get to Terre Haute.

Samantha Bluske, who finished right behind Nelson in seemingly every race in '12, is also back and will provide veteran leadership that this team loses with Saina and Nelson gone. Bluske had a good track season where she brought down her 5k and 10k PRs and qualified to the West Regional in both events.

Katy Moen and Colleen Riley are both experienced cross country runners and will play important roles in the 1-5 of Iowa State. Moen has good 5k and 10k PRs and if she can translate her track times into solid xc running, she will be a good no. 3 runner.

The prize recruit for the Cyclones is Erin Hooker of perennial powerhouse Fort Collins, Colorado. Hooker has been one of the better xc runners in the country for the past few seasons and ran well at NXN in 2011 and 2012. Having thus been the no. 1 runner on one of the best teams in the country two years in a row, Hooker will prove to be another good asset to their 1-5 and could find herself in the 2-3 role as the season progresses. In fact, you never know with her upside, she could end up leading Iowa State into the national championships.

The returning Midwest Regional champs have some work to do to defend their title as Minnesota is reloaded and Oklahoma State has some very strong front-runners. Although this is a difficult region, Iowa State should acquire enough credential points early in the season to make the National Championships in Terre Haute in November.

#26

Washington Men

Head Coach: Greg Metcalf (12th Season)

2012 National Finish- N/A

Key Returners from 2012

Tyler King (So., 8:07 Open 3k, 14:00)
Aaron Beattie (Jr., 14:16, 30:20)
Aaron Nelson (Jr., 8:52 3k Steeple)
Meron Simon (Jr., 4:04 Mile, 8:16 Open 3k)

Impact Recruits/Transfers

Jacob Smith (So., Univ. of Portland no. 5 in 2012, 4:10 1600m, 9:01 3200m)
Andrew Gardner (Fr., 4:09, 8:54, 3X Foot Locker Finals Qualifer: 11th in '12, 6th in '11, 4th in '10)
Sumner Goodwin (Fr., 8:58, 2X NXN Nats Qualifer: 7th in '12)

Season Preview

It must be hard to be on the Men's Cross Country team at Washington and watch your women's team roll, year after year. For the first time since 2009, this team looks prepared and full of veteran athletes ready to make the push for Terre Haute, like their women's team does every year.

Washington returns several experienced cross country runners who must step up for this team to find success in 2013. Tyler King was their best 5k runner on the track in the spring having run 14:00. Aaron Nelson was a nice surprise in the steeple getting a nice PR of 8:52 as well. Aaron Beattie and Meron Simon are both good track guys who need to translate their track ability to the xc course in order to solidfy the Husky pack.

The great news for Washington is that Greg Metcalf has signed one of the best recruiting classes they have had in years along with some key transfers. Without these recruits and transfers the Huskies would have a rough time qualifying for Terre Haute.

Two of the best cross country runners in the state of Washington over the past few seasons both decided to sign at UW (although Gardner initially signed with Air Force). Sumner Goodwin is a proven xc runner and has qualified to NXN Nationals two straight years. He placed seventh overall in 2012 (brutally tough course too).

Andrew Gardner of Mead High School is a college-ready impact recruit. Gardner has qualified for Foot Locker Finals every year since he was a sophomore in high school. Gardner has outstanding track PRs (see above) and is one of the few incoming freshman that one could consider instant-offense.

The great news just gets better for Washington as two University of Portland runners: Jacob Smith and Izaic Yorks decided to transfer to UW. Jacob Smith was the no. 5 runner on the Portland team that finished 12th at Nationals. Smith is capable of being the guy that pushes this team into the national meet with his experience last season and renewed motivation at a new school and program.

If the Goodwin, Gardner and Smith make the impacts that on this UW team that they are capable of making, this team will surprise a lot of teams in the West regional, where they should be able to cruise on to Terre Haute.