Iowa City Today

The University of Iowa cross country teams are set to compete at the Pre-National Invite this Saturday at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri. The women’s 6,000-meter race begins at 10:00 a.m., followed by the men’s 8,000-meter race. Admission to the event is $10.

In their previous meet, the Joe Piane Invite on October 3, the Iowa women’s team finished 13th with 363 points, while the men’s team placed 15th with 352 points. Elena Torres, a sophomore, recorded a time of 16:47.1 in the 5,000 meters, moving into the program’s top-10 list. The men’s team saw four personal bests, with Miles Wilson leading the group in his season debut with a time of 24:01.6.

Elena Torres was recognized as the Big Ten Women’s Athlete of the Week after winning the 4,000 meters at the Hawkeye Invite with a personal-best time of 13:44.6. "Elena Torres was the Big Ten Women’s Athlete of the Week following her performance at the Hawkeye Invite, where she won the 4,000 meters in a personal-best 13:44.6." Luke Knepp earned the men’s award two weeks later by leading Iowa at the Roy Griak Invite in 26:06.7 over 8,000 meters. Freshman Ella Magallan has twice been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for her performances at both the Hawkeye Invite and Joe Piane Invite.

The Iowa women’s team made its first appearance in national rankings this season, starting at 12th and most recently ranked 15th by USTFCCCA heading into this weekend’s meet.

Sophomore Elena Torres has been the top finisher for Iowa women in every race this season. Senior Jalyssa Blazek finished third at the Hawkeye Invite and has consistently placed among the top three for Iowa in all three meets. Sophomore Hillary Trainor set a personal record for seventh place at the Hawkeye Invite and finished second for Iowa at the Joe Piane Invite. Ella Magallan has also performed well, finishing among Iowa’s top five runners and collecting two conference freshman awards.

For the men, redshirt sophomore Luke Knepp led in the first two races this season. Freshman Elias Arbuckle placed sixth at the Hawkeye Invite with a time that ranks fifth all-time at Iowa for a debut race. Arbuckle also finished in the top ten among freshmen in his first two meets. Kyle Montgomery moved into seventh all-time at Iowa after his performance in the season opener and was the second finisher for Iowa at both the Roy Griak and Joe Piane meets. Miles Wilson led Iowa in his season debut at Joe Piane.

Iowa added four newcomers to its 2025 roster this season: freshmen Owen Wolfe, Spencer Alf, and Elias Arbuckle for the men’s team, and Emma Magallan for the women’s team. Last season saw significant contributions from new athletes such as Elena Torres—who received two Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors—and Marissa Long and Hillary Trainor for the women, as well as Kyle Montgomery and Ethan Eichhorn for the men.

The majority of athletes on this year’s roster come from Iowa, with 15 out of 23 hailing from within the state. The rest represent Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Texas, Indiana, and Colorado.

At the 2019 Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana, Iowa’s men placed 10th out of 38 teams, while Nathan Mylenek qualified individually for nationals. The women competed in the 6,000 meters for the first time that season and finished 24th.

Fans can follow live results at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive or connect with the team on Facebook, X (@IowaXC_TF), and Instagram (@iowaxctf).

Iowa will next compete in the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing, Michigan on October 31.