Seniors Complete Regional

DES MOINES, Iowa- Jayden Russ finished eighth in the 3000-meter steeplechase and the rest of the Iowa State men's track and field squad wrapped up its run at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Des Moines on Saturday.

Russ, a Brisbane, Australia native, clocked a 9:04.50 in 3,000-meter steeplechase to place eighth and earn a point for the Cyclones. The junior just missed his career best by less than half a second.

“Jayden [Russ] ran one of his best times of the season, but couldn't quite finish the last two laps of the season the way he wanted to,” Iowa State head men's track and field coach Steve Lynn said. “But he did a really great job.”

The strong Iowa State 4x400-meter relay team battled through a tough race and Jared Graham, who ran the anchor, suffered a hamstring injury and the squad could not finish. Earlier in the race, junior Tony Stanfield got bumped which set the Cyclones back. This was the final race in the ISU careers of seniors Elijah Braimah and Graham.

“The 4x400-meter relay team has been the anchor of our team the entire year,” Lynn said. “They're a great group of guys, they're indoor school-record holders [in the event] and it is a terrible way to end a great season and the great careers of Jared [Graham] and Elijah [Braimah].

Eight of the top ten teams in the Regional came from the Big 12.

ISU now looks ahead to the NCAA Championships on June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif. Big 12 decathlon champion Neil Hines will perform in the multi-event in California and hopes to put an exclamation point on his stellar Iowa State career.

Cyclone Results

3,000-meter steeplechase- 1. Rob Watson, Colorado State, 8:49.38; 8. Jayden Russ, Iowa State, 9:04.50

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Players Mentioned

Elijah Braimah

Jared Graham

Neil Hines

Jayden Russ

Jayden Russ

Tony Stanfield

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