Iowa State’s cross country team has long been a powerhouse in the world of NCAA. Under the guidance of Coach Jeremy Sudbury, the Cyclones have consistently delivered remarkable performances. From being a mid-range team to becoming the runner-up, last season was chaotic for them, but it gave them hope that they could win the national title for the first time in 30 years, since their initial victory in 1994.

They hovered around fourth and fifth place until last season. The men’s team shattered expectations with a stunning runner-up finish behind BYU, setting the stage for a record-breaking 2025 campaign. Both the men’s and women’s programs soared into the Top 6, cementing Iowa State’s elite status, only for their momentum to hit a sudden halt amid the shocking suspension of multiple athletes.

Confused much? Last Friday night and on Saturday morning, The Stride Report shared a message hinting that there’s turmoil within the Iowa State men’s cross country program. This message certainly sent shockwaves through the postseason games. Well, the nuke was dropped, and people scrambled to know what had happened. TSR, in her conversation with Jeremy Sudbury, the Director of Cross Country & Track and Field at Iowa State, confirmed that multiple men’s athletes have been suspended.

Their exact words were, “suspended from the team for the season for breaking team rules.” Which rules and which team members have been removed? Well, that’s a mystery for now, as both Sudbury and the Iowa State athletics have their lips sealed on the topic, leaving fans and followers speculating about the team’s next moves. Well, sadly, there’s no confirmed reason behind the suspensions, and the future of the suspended athletes beyond this season remains uncertain.

When Sudbury was asked whether the suspensions might affect the Cyclones’ postseason performance, he asserted, “The team you saw at Missouri is a team that is obviously going to do really, really well. No, I don’t foresee this impacting team performance this postseason.” Last season, the team pulled off a near-miracle, finishing as runner-up after spending much of the year in fourth and fifth place. When asked how it felt to completely turn the season around, Sudbury said, “It was an awesome season.”

He further added, “We were very happy with how we ended the season. The biggest thing for us is that we’ve always been a team where we’ve felt like we could show up over 10K in November. One of our strengths historically at Iowa State has been surpassing expectations in the postseason.” From being a mid-range team to becoming the runner-up, last season was chaotic for them, but it gave them hope that they could win the national title for the first time in 30 years, since their initial victory in 1994. Let’s have a look at how they performed this season.

Iowa State’s cross-country team is “getting recognized”

They were certainly making waves nationally with their postseason performance this season as well. The Cyclone men held onto the No. 1 spot for a fifth straight week in the Week 4 USTFCCCA poll. On the other hand, the women’s team skyrocketed 10 spots to No. 6 after a strong showing at the Nuttycombe Invitational. At the end of the week, ISU stood as the only team to have both the men’s and the women’s teams in the Top 6, with both men’s and women’s teams also claiming the Midwest Region crowns.

The women again announced themselves in Madison, securing third place among the top 17 ranked teams. Mercyline Kirwa led the charge with a Top 5 finish (19:44.8 over 6K), joined in the Top 15 by Maelle Porcher and Betty Kipkore, while Mercy Kibet’s 29th-place finish bolstered the team effort. If we were to talk about the men’s side, Seth Clevenger shone with a 19th-place finish in Wisconsin.

Talking about their performance, Jeremy Sudbury expressed, “As much as we’ve been getting more nation attention this year, I think one of the big things we’ve just looked at it as, ‘well, finally we’re getting recognized.” They are proud of their achievements; however, the recent news has certainly rocked the foundation of their team. Furman Track and Field coach Rita Gray, in her statement on X, expressed discontent about the situation: “P4 schools are paying hundreds of thousands to recruit from the dirtiest system in world athletics showing what they value.”

She further added, “When adults lower the bar, kids follow. We’ve failed our most promising athletes, and every program working with Scholarbook and Town Hall owns that.” Will Iowa State reveal the names and reasons for the suspensions? Only time will tell, but for now, there seems to be something seriously wrong with the team.