Iowa State University Track
and Cross Country Camps
Coaching Staff

Head Coach Corey Ihmels
ISU Head Cross Country Coach
1991 National Footlocker Champion
6 X NCAA Div. 1 All-American
Sub 4 Minute Miler (3:59.71)

The steady rise of Iowa State’s cross country and track and field programs within the Big 12 Conference and nationally continues unabated as ISU director of track and cross country Corey Ihmels heads into his third indoor and outdoor track and field campaigns.

Ihmels’ impact on the Cyclone track and field program has been profound. The Iowa State men’s track team posted its best team finish since 2000 at the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship. At the league indoor meet Guor Marial and native Iowan Kiel Uhl placed second and third, respectively in the 5,000 meters. Luke Pinkleman was second in the shot put and Hillary Bor runner-up in the mile. ISU has already made its mark at the NCAA Track and Field Championship as Bor finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Lisa Koll, the 2009 CoSIDA academic all-American of the year, earned All-America honors in the 10,000 meters.

Freshman Betsy Saina earned All-America honors in the 5,000-meters with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000-meter run. Koll and Saina went 1-2 in both the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters at the Big 12 outdoor meet.

The Iowa State men’s cross country team placed 17th at the NCAA Championship in its second straight national appearance, the school’s best NCAA finish since 1997. Junior Guor Marial earned All-America honors at that meet with a 31st-place national effort. The Cyclones’ third-place finish at the Big 12 Cross Country Championship in Ames was ISU’s best since 1997. The Cyclones finished just one point out of second place.

Under Ihmels’ coaching eye in 2008, sophomore Lisa Koll became the American Collegiate record-holder in the 10,000-meters (32:11.13). She went on to lap all but five runners to win the NCAA 10,000-meter title at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. The academic All-American was the top collegiate finisher in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials, placing eighth.

Most impressive has been the steady program-wide improvement of performance by the Cyclones under Ihmels wing. Bor did his part in 2008. He was a track and field All-American, placing fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as a freshman at the NCAA meet.

The men’s distance corps includes senior Kiel Uhl, the 2006 USA Junior Cross Country champion. Half-miler James Galvin set the school record in the 800 meters in his first collegiate race indoors (1:48.36) in 2007 and was the Big 12 indoor runner-up at that distance. Freshman sprinter Derron Montgomery was fifth in the Big 12 indoor 400-meter dash. Thrower Luke Pinkleman placed fourth in the shot put.

The young nature of Ihmels’ student-athletes is affirmed by that fact that more than two-thirds of the points scored by the Iowa State’s men’s and women’s teams at the 2008 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships came via performances by freshmen and sophomore competitors.

While Koll, ranked sixth nationally in the 10,000-meter run for 2008 by Track and Field News, is Ihmels’ best known pupil, Iowa State’s roster is full of proven competitors, including All-American Grace Kemmey. The junior was 10th in the NCAA 10,000-meter title race in 2008. Outdoors, Kemmey was third in the 10,000-meters and fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Big 12 meet. Indoors, Koll was second and fourth respectively at the NCAA indoor meet in the 5,000- and 3,000-meter runs. At the Big 12 indoor meet, Koll and Kemmey raced to a 1-2 finish in the 5,000-meters.

Iowa State is not just a distance program. Freshman high jumper Tiffanie Synacek was third in the high jump (5-9 1/4) in the NCAA Midwest Regional and also tied for third at the Big 12 outdoor meet. Hurdler Jenna Caffrey was an NCAA Championship qualifier in 2007.

Ihmels’ impact at Iowa State was immediate. The Iowa State men were fourth at the 2007 Big 12 Conference Cross Country Championship, the school’s best team effort in a decade. The Cyclones then raced to a third-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional in a 23-team field, the program’s highest placing since Ihmels ran on ISU’s 1995 regional runner-up squad.

The Iowa State women’s cross country team’s first season under Ihmels was equally promising. The Cyclones placed seventh among 25 teams at the Midwest Regional. Koll, who was third in the Big 12 Championship and fourth at the regional, went on to earn All-America honors for the second straight year with an 18th-place effort at the NCAA national meet. Kemmey, the Big 12 newcomer of the year, also earned All-America honors.

Ihmels was a six-time All-America long-distance runner at Iowa State and a member of the school’s 1994 NCAA championship cross country team. Chosen by ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard to head the Cyclone programs in May 2007, Ihmels oversees the overall operation of both programs and hired a top-notch coaching staff.

Ihmels, one of the most-celebrated runners in Cyclone history and a competitor under legendary coach Bill Bergan, is well-positioned to elevate the performance of an Iowa State track and field and cross country program long on tradition and championships.
As an assistant coach at Iowa State before taking over the director post, Ihmels watched 2006 NCAA mile runner-up David Rotich break the Cyclone coach’s school records in the mile and 1,000-meter run.

Ihmels, a 13-time North Dakota state high school champion and the Foot Locker national prep honoree, was recruited to ISU in 1992. A sub four-minute miler, Ihmels was the Big 12’s inaugural track MVP in 1997 after winning the mile and 1,000-meter run at the indoor championship. He and his wife Michelle, a volunteer assistant on the Cyclone coaching staff, celebrated the birth of their son Will in February 2007 and daughter Ruby Anne, born in January 2009.

Travis Hartke
ISU Assistant Track and Cross Country Coach
Member of 3 top 3 finishing teams at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Travis Hartke is in his fourth season at Iowa State as assistant coach of the distance and cross country runners. Hartke joined the staff in 2006 as a volunteer assistant, a role which he filled for two years. Now in his  first full-time season, Hartke acts as meet director for Iowa State’s cross country and indoor track and field meets. He also coordinates recruiting for distance events, along with other administrative duties. A native of Litchfield, Ill., Hartke received his USATF Level 1 coaching certification in 2004. In 2008, Hartke served as meet director for the Big 12 Conference Championships. While coach of distance for track and field in 2007, Hartke assisted in coaching Lisa Koll to a NCAA championship and American collegiate record in the 10,000-meter run.

Hartke completed his master’s degree in kinesiology at Iowa State in 2008.  Before coming to Iowa State, Hartke attended NCAA Division III cross country powerhouse North Central College in Naperville, Ill. There he received his bachelor’s degree in physical education and psychology. During his time at North Central, his cross country team finished third, third, second and 12th at the NCAA Division III National Championship.  Hartke was also a steeplechaser for North Central. Hartke is also the director of  the Cyclone Wilderness Cross Country Camp.

Pete Herber
Iowa State Assistant Coach

Pete Herber enters his second season as the jumps and multi-events coach for Iowa State track and field. In his first season at Iowa State, Herber coached freshman high jumper Tiffanie Synacek to a third-place finish in the high jump (5-9 1/4) in the NCAA Midwest Regional. Synacek aslo tied for third at the Big 12 outdoor meet.

Herber, a Dubuque native, was named an assistant track coach for jumps and multi-events by head coach Corey Ihmels in September 2007. A former NCAA qualifier in the high jump at Northern Iowa, Herber was the head track coach at Coe (Iowa) College from 2006-2007. In his tenure at Coe, 10 athletes provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships.

Herber elevated the track and field program at Coe, as his competitors broke nine school records. The team’s roster grew from 34 to 66 competitors in the two years Herber led the Kohawk program. Prior to assuming the head coaching position, Herber was an assistant coach at Coe from 2001-05 and from 1996-98. During that time he coached Division III national qualifiers in the sprints, hurdles, long jump, triple jump, discus and heptathlon.

Herber, a four-time all-Missouri Valley Conference performer, had a personal high jump best of 7-3 1/4 as a collegiate competitor. He also earned a trip to the NCAA championship, provisionally qualifying three times. Herber earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies from Northern Iowa in 1996.  He earned a master’s degree in sport science with an emphasis in sport coaching from the United States Sports (Ala.) Academy in 2004. Herber also coached on the high school level in Colorado. Herber and his wife Dawn have a daughter Ellie and a son Tate.

Nate Wiens
Iowa State Assistant Coach
Level II USATF Certification, Sprints/Hurdles
Level II USATF Certification, Jumps
Level II USATF Certification, Multi-Events
USATF ITC (Instructor Training Course) Certified to direct/instruct/teach Level I USATF Schools
USWF (United States Weightlifting Federation) Certified Club Coach

During the 2009 indoor and outdoor seasons, Iowa State sprints and hurdles coach Nate Wiens assisted in bringing the Cyclones to new heights as the indoor and outdoor track and field teams saw their best conference finishes since 2001 and 2002.  Wiens' sprinters and hurdlers brought home 13 all-conference performances, three regional qualifiers, one national qualifier and two junior national qualifiers.  Wiens also spoke at the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Convention and the Iowa Track and Field Coaches Clinic.

Previously, Wiens was the sprints and hurdles coach at California-Riverside.  During his two years at UCR, the school's men's and women's 4x400 teams set school records with the women's team winning the 4X400 at the Big West Championships.  The men's and women's 4x100 teams also set the second-fastest times in school history.  UCR earned its highest finishes in conference competition since moving up to NCAA Division I.  The Highlanders sent their first-ever running qualifier to the West Regional final and broke a combined eight indoor and outdoor school-relay records.  Additionally, Wiens helped produce six individual school record holders in the sprints and hurdles.  Wiens also served as the meet director for UCR's cross country and open meets as well as their first inaugural Inland Empire Coaching Clinic.

Before UCR, Wiens was at Nebraska-Kearney as sprints, hurdles, relays, and multi-events coach.  In his two seasons there, Wiens’ athletes earned 66 all-conference honors including 18 conference championships. Wien’s athletes set 24 school records. Six RMAC Athletes of the Year and nine All-Americans competed under Wiens. In the 2004 and 2005 Division II NCAA power rankings, the Loper men's and women's teams placed in the top 15 seven times with three placing in the top four or higher.  Wiens also served as the Loper Track and Field Summer Camp coordinator and taught the annual indoor track and field coaching clinic while teaching courses in the health and physical education department.

During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Wiens coached at Missouri-Kansas City and served as the multi-events and throws coach as well as assisting with sprints and jumps.  The Kangaroos had nine all-conference athletes in the multi-events and throws, two conference champions, one regional qualifier and broke four school records during Wiens' two seasons there.  He also completed his master's degree in higher education administration with an emphasis in Sports Management while teaching courses in the HPER department.

Wiens is a 2000 graduate from Mid-America Nazarene College with a major in physical education and health with a minor in business.  Nate earned all-conference honors in the pentathlon, high jump, triple jump, and javelin.  He was a NAIA indoor national qualifier in the pentathlon and high jump and an outdoor national qualifier in the decathlon, high jump and javelin.  Nate won the NCCAA national championship in the decathlon and gained All-American honors in the high jump, javelin, and triple jump in the NCCAA.

Kristy Popp
Iowa State Assistant Coach

Kristy Popp is in her first season at Iowa State as assistant coach of the distance and cross country runners. Popp received her master’s degree in exercise physiology from Minnesota in 2007, where she finished up her Ph.D. in August of 2009. Popp attended Valparaiso University for four years and competed in track and field and cross country before attending Minnesota. At Valparaiso University, Popp completed her bachelor’s degree in physical education with an exercise science emphasis.

Since completing her college eligibility, Popp served as the assistant cross country coach as well as the distance coach for the track and field program at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minn. As well as coaching, Popp has worked as a research assistant and principle investigator on several clinical and research studies at Minnesota.

Popp recently acquired her USATF level I training certification, and is a member of the National Athletics Trainers Association as well as the American College of Sports Medicine.

Michelle Ihmels
2000 USA OlympicTrials Qualifier (10,000m)
2 x NCAA Division I All-American
33:08 10,000m Personal Best

Former Louisville and Arizona State assistant coach Michelle Ihmels is in her second year as a volunteer assistant coach at Iowa State.  A native of Kirtland, Ohio, she won three state prep cross country crowns at Kirtland High School.  Ihmels went on earn All-America honors twice at Louisville. Her success as a collegian was affirmed, when she was selected to be a member of the Louisville Hall of Fame.

Ihmels was a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter run in 2000. She owns best times of (9:18), (16:03) and (33:08) in the 3,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs, respectively. Ihmels earned her bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Louisville in 1994.  She earned her doctorate in kinesiology at Iowa State in December.

Ihmels is married to Iowa State head coach Corey Ihmels.  They have a son, Wil Ihmels, who was born in February, 2007, and a daughter Ruby Anne, born in January 2009.