Jeff Thode

University of Iowa junior Jeff Thode finished 78th at Monday's NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Thode finished the 10,000 meter race with a time of 30:38.5.

As a sophomore in 2010, University of Iowa cross country runner Jeff Thode became the sixth All-American in school history. On Monday he aims to become the third repeat Hawkeye All-American, joining Kevin Herd (1992-93) and his head coach, Larry Wieczorek (1966-67).

University of Iowa junior Jeff Thode will return to the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season. Thode earned an individual automatic bid to the Championships with his eighth place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 12. Thode ran the 10K in 31:23.67.

Writing an unprecedented chapter in UI track history, McKenzie Melander and Jeff Thode ran 4:39.78 and 3:58.72 respectively in the mile Saturday.

The Shirk Center in Bloomington this weekend showcased the best from the state of Illinois. One of the top performances of the meet came from Conant's Jeff Thode in the 1600 meter run as he joined a select group of high school preps to have run under 4:10 for 1600 meters this season with his US #9 performance of 4:09.94. In the field events, Dan Block and Megan Weller had the leading performances with Block throwing for a season best mark of 62'2" (US #8), while Weller's clearance of 12'7" ranks her #6 in the US. Illinois Prep Top Times Classic: Class AAA - Class AA/A

The first of three regular season invitationals in Peoria takes place this weekend, as the Peoria Woodruff Invitational brings together many of the top ranked teams in the state to race on the state meet course. This year seven of the top 13 ranked boys teams and six of the top ten girls teams will take part. Perhaps the most anticipated part is the debut of freshman superstar Lukas Verzbicas, who will face Danny Pawola, Jeff Thode, Anthony Manfrin, Aaron Beattie and Indiana's Drew Shields among others.

It's finally here.  The Illinois Boys State Track and Field Championship is finally upon us.  Despite windy, cold and wet conditions over the course of the outdoor season, the weather finally looks perfect just when it's needed most.  As the top athletes assemble in Charleston this coming weekend, speculation abounds over most of the events.  Will Dan Block throw 210 feet in the discus, can Kraig Appleton break the state record in the 300m hurdles and how about Chris Derrick having a shot to win both the 1600m and 3200m?  Those are the questions, add in nearly a dozen more, competitive fields all around and a tight team battle and we have the making of one of the best state track and field championships Illinois has ever seen.  Start getting excited and check out our AA state preview.

Wow! That's all that can really be said to sum up this past weekend's performances across the nation. With great weather, peak performances and deep fields, some of the results simply impressed. With nearly ten seperate state meets to cover, and numerous other top-tier invitationals, we've decided to merge it all into one big article, a new feature we're going to call The Awards Stand. Each week for the rest of the season we'll recap what the top performances were in each event grouping. See who made it this week. (Photo of Texas' Kyle Clemons by Alex Aldaco)