Hawkeye Reporter

University of Iowa redshirt sophomore Luke Knepp has been named the Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week, according to an announcement from the conference on Wednesday.

Knepp led the Hawkeyes at the Roy Griak Invite in Minneapolis on September 19, finishing with a time of 26:06.7 in the 8,000-meter race and placing 28th overall. The men’s team finished sixth at the event.

This marks the first time since 2019 that an Iowa cross country athlete has received this weekly conference honor; Nathan Mylenek was the last to do so. It is also the second occasion this season that Iowa athletes have been recognized by the Big Ten for weekly awards. On September 10, Ella Magallan and Elena Torres were named Big Ten Women’s Freshman and Athlete of the Week, respectively.

The Hawkeyes are scheduled to compete next at the Joe Piane Invite in South Bend, Indiana, on October 3. The competition is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Central Time.

"Iowa's first conference athlete of the week in cross country since Nathan Mylenek took home the honor in 2019."

"It is the second time this season that the Hawkeyes have earned weekly conference recognition."