Male harriers set high goals
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The Iowa men’s cross-country team has been one of the most successful Hawkeye teams in this millennium. The Hawkeyes were NCAA qualifiers in 2002, ’04, ’05, and ’06. They plan on making their return this season.
What you should know
Head coach Larry Wieczorek, a four-time All-American at Iowa, knows what it takes to be the best. He has assembled a star-studded roster and set high goals for this season.
“We’d like to be among the top-three or -four teams at the Big Ten championships,” he said. “We’ve shown that we can do it here in the 2000s, and we’d like to get a little run going again here.
“We are looking forward to getting back to the NCAA championships,” Wieczorek said. “If all goes well, we have a chance to be one of the best teams in the country next year. We have legitimate reasons to be optimistic.”
Whom you should know
Wieczorek knows that depth is an important for any team vying for a championship. He has that with the current squad.
“I think we’re going to have some quality, high-end guys that can compete with the best in the country,” he said.
Nick Holmes won the 2008 Hawkeye Invitational in his collegiate début as a freshman, then missed the rest of the season with injuries. He’s glad to be healthy for his sophomore campaign.
“I’m just looking forward to getting back and running with the team again and trying to make an impact,” Holmes said. “I want to take the team to nationals — that’s the goal first and foremost and then worry about myself as it comes.”
The coach is happy to have his young star back.
“He’s a guy with a great future here and one of the best young guys in the country,” Wieczorek said.
Main rival
“I don’t feel any great rivalries with anybody in particular, but everybody in general,” said Wieczorek, an Illinois native. “I hate them all equally.”
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