Men's team The Iowa State men's cross country team made their first appearance as a team at the national
cross country meet in
1952. Between 1952 and
1987, Iowa State produced ten different individual All-Americans, many of them receiving the honors more than once. In both 1987 and
1988, the men's team won the
Big Eight Conference titles. In
1989, the team led by
John Nuttall and Jonah Koech won their third consecutive Big Eight Conference championship and continued to the national meet with high hopes. At the
NCAA Division 1 National Meet, Nuttall captured the individual crown, followed in second by his teammate Koech. The 1989 Iowa State Cyclone team won their first national championship with the second best team score in the previous 25 years. For the next two years, Iowa State was the runner-up at the national meet. In
1994, the team, led by Ian Robinson, was once again Big Eight Conference Champions and was expected to contend for the national title. Although the meet was held on the home course of the defending champions, Arkansas, Iowa State captured the national title for the first time since 1989. Martin Smith was hired in 2013 to replace Corey Ihmels as the new Director of Track & Field / Cross Country. Martin has 35 years of collegiate coaching experience with 5 national championships, 25 conference championships, and nearly 300 All-Americans under his guidance. Martin was hired from Oklahoma, where he led the men's cross country team to their highest finish ever at the 2012 NCAA XC National Championships. Prior to Oklahoma, Smith coached at Oregon where he coached 65 All-Americans. From 1983 - 1998, Smith coached at Wisconsin, where he led the men's cross country team to national championships in 1985 and 1988. Smith coached at Virginia from 1980 - 1983, where he led the women to three national championships (indoor track in 1981 and cross country in 1981 and 1982).
Women's team Iowa State first formed a collegiate women's cross country team in 1975. Becoming successful from the start, the team won the
1975 team AIAW Championship. The team was led by Peg Neppel-Darrah, who won the
1975 individual AIAW Championship as well. Iowa State continued to dominate by winning the
1976,
1977, and
1978 titles. The team also won the
1981 AIAW title on the strength of Dorthe Rasmussen's individual title. The team experienced tragedy when the team plane crashed on the way back from finishing as runner-up at the
1985 NCAA Championships. The university-owned plane crashed over
Des Moines due to suspected ice accumulation on the wings. Those aboard were Burton Watkins of Ames, pilot of the airplane; Ron Renko, Head Coach of the ISU women's track and cross country teams; Stephanie Streit, student trainer for the Athletic Department; and cross country team members Susan Baxter, Julie Rose, and Sheryl Maahs. After the setback, the team didn't return to dominance until the mid-2000s led by distance runner
Lisa Koll. While at Iowa State, Koll was a three-time all-American and went on to compete in the
2012 Olympics. Koll's individual success was followed shortly by
Betsy Saina's, culminating in an
NCAA championship in 2012. She too went on to compete in the Olympics, placing fifth at the
2016 games. The current women's cross country coach is Andrea Grove-McDonough. == Championships ==