Iowa City, IA – The Indian Hills Men's and Women's Cross Country squads are set to open up the 2023 season Friday night in Iowa City with the Hawkeye Cross Country Invitational.
DETAILS: 2023 Hawkeye Cross Country Invitational
Friday, September 1 | Iowa City, IA | Ashton Cross Country Course (click for course info/location)
Women's 4K | 6:00 PM | Live Results
Men's 6K | 6:45 PM | Live Results
STARTING LINE
The Indian Hills Men's and Women's Cross Country squads will make the 98-mile trek to the Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City for both squads season openers. The Warriors will be one of four programs competing, and the lone two-year college at the meet. Indian Hills will join Iowa, Illinois State University, and Truman State University.
COACH EWING'S NOTES
Head coach Brent Ewing enters his sixth season at the helm of the Indian Hills Cross Country and Track & Field programs.
"The first meet of the year is always a test to see where our current fitness levels are. My expectations are to see my athletes execute the race plans that I give them. It's going to be a very warm day so we're going to need to be disciplined early on in the race and mentally tough in the second half."
WOMEN'S NOTES
The Indian Hills Women's Cross Country squad features a revamped roster this year with six new faces making up the 2023 squad. The Warriors' lineup features Iowa products Cheyanne Bruns (Bussey, IA/Twin Cedars), Ava Ferrell (Agency, IA/Cardinal), Emily Lord (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa), and Brooke Miller (Fairfield, IA/Pekin) while out-of-state student-athletes Amaree Hamilton (Lansing, IL/Hillcrest) and Selket Reid-El (Jacksonville, FL/Raines) round out the roster.
"On the ladies side, I anticipate Amaree Hamilton and Brooke Miller to lead the way," Ewing noted. "I'm excited to see them compete. I believe they are already way further ahead fitness wise than they've ever been. This will be the first step for our ladies to display that they are capable of being a top 15 team in the country this year."
MEN'S NOTES
The Warriors' eight-man roster features a quartet of sophomore returners in Keelan Aita (Bennington, KS/Bennington), Brody Lucas (Norwalk, IA/Norwalk), Logan Soedt (Eldridge, IA/North Scott), and Jacchaeus Taylor (Kansas City, MO/Raytown). McCausland, IA native Nik Davis (McCausland, IA/North Scott) joins the program alongside three international newcomers in Brandon Ford (Perth, Western Australia/Duncraig), Keveroy Venson (Linstead, Jamaica/Calabar), and Moubarik Yago (Toulouse, France/Lycee Melkior Garre).
"For the men, I believe we have two guys who have a great shot at breaking the 6k school record. Keveroy Venson and Brandon Ford have been training at very high levels. Moubarik Yago, who will likely be our No. 1 3-guy this season will not be racing so we'll need to rely on Brody Lucas, Nik Davis and Logan Soedt to step up. They've been proving themselves every day in practice so I'm confident they will be prepared for tomorrow."
THE COURSE
The Ashton Cross Country Course serves as the home location for the Iowa Hawkeyes Men's and Women's Cross Country programs. Located west of the Finkbine Golf Course, the course first opened in 2003 and has hosted the 2014 Big Ten Championships and 2016 and 2021 NCAA Regionals. The course boasts a rolling terrain with outstanding rhythm for running, and offers the ability to race from 3K to 10K around a layout that enables spectators to view the race from start to finish.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Warrior men and women will head to the Bradley Intercollegiate, hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, IL on September 15.
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