Former Ankeny Centennial standout Emma Gordon closed out her collegiate cross country career with a personal best.
The Iowa senior placed 18th in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday at Columbia, Mo. She led the Hawkeyes to a 14th-place finish.
Gordon posted a time of 20 minutes 37.1 seconds to become the third Hawkeye in the last 10 seasons to finish in the top 20 at the Midwest Regional. She dropped 16 seconds off her personal best while recording the eighth-fastest time in program history.
Gordon was also the top finisher among the 21 former Iowa high school preps in the field.
“Emma Gordon was the best story of the day,” said Iowa distance coach Randy Hasenbank. “It would be hard to find another athlete, who has come as far. She was 157th in this meet as a sophomore. Last year she was only 116th. Just a fantastic performance. Stick with it, believe in yourself and be consistent. It is not easy, it’s not supposed to be easy. Very proud of her accomplishment today. We had a solid team effort. Not where we would like be but the effort was very good today.”