Dubliner Mick Byrne's Iona Gaels men's team have placed in the Top 10 at the last three NCAA Cross Country Championships placing 7th in 2004, 4th in 2003 and 10th in 2002. This season, Byrne says, "Our goal; to run two hard 10k's well in November and get on the podium at NCAA's."

The Iona men's team is ranked 8th in the most recent Mondo NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Poll issued on 4th October and is #1 in the Northeast Region Poll.

Iona College is a small Catholic institution located north of New York City in Westchester County but manages to compete with biggest universities in America with fewer scholarships as well.

A slogan on the back of team shirts reads Iona College Track & Cross Country - Assembled in America.

The Top 7 is comprised of runners from six different countries including Kenya, Uganda, Ireland, Canada, Morocco and of course, America.

Andrew Ledwith, from Athboy, Co Meath, continues the tradition of Irish runners at Iona which included Kieran Stack, Martin McCarthy, Vinny Mulvey, Joe McAlister, Mark Smyth and most recently Sean Connolly. Ledwith ran an impressive 14.18.37 for 5,000 metres as a freshman.

As is the case with almost every collegiate coach, injuries are a worry for the Gaels during the long season. Byrne comments, "To attain our goals this season we will need everyone healthy and right now in mid-October we have some issues. If Andrew Ledwith continues to progress at the rate he has over the last four weeks, he'll come into the lineup very soon. Andrew sustained a pretty nasty knee injury running at home over the summer, and at first it didn't look good for this XC season. Now we are in a different spot than six to eight weeks ago and it looks like he'll be ready to help us."

He continues talking about this year's team, "We'll also need Harbert Okuti (Arua, Uganda) healthy if we are to have any shot at a top five finish and hopefully Harbert will be OK to go soon.

We are in good shape up front with Richard Kiplagat, Stephen Chemlany and freshman Mohamed Khadraoui who is getting stronger every week. Now, all we need is for a few guys to step up to support them and we'll be fine.

Regional and Nationals are still down the road and we need to stay focused on our team goals, pick up the tempo of our sessions, and stay healthy. With a wee bit of luck, a hopefully no one upsets the XC Gods, we'll be fine."

Having established his men's team as a perennial contender, Byrne is trying to duplicate this success with his women's team. Before making a splash on the national scene, the women's team must first achieve Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and NCAA Northeast Region accomplishments.

Byrne, talked about the women's team, "Right now we are ranked 7th in our Region and I'm pleased with that. We are moving in the right direction. Our goal for the women's program is to win the MAAC and run well at the Regional. We are young and we need to look ahead with this program.

The overall goal is to get our women stronger and we may have to sacrifice some fast work to achieve this. We are looking further down the road with them and that is exciting."

Dundrum South Dublin's Michelle Gallagher (San Francisco, California) was one of the first top athletes recruited by Byrne. He commented, "Michelle put in some good work this summer and continued this through August and September. I think she ran the Meet of Champions tired, but should be fine over the next few weeks."

The second Irishwoman is newcomer, Tracey Williams from Tallaght, Co Dublin. Williams' infectious smile and devoted attitude toward training helped her adapt and be a welcomed addition to the team.

Byrne talks about her development, "We have increased Tracey's mileage and she's responded very well. We are looking ahead with Tracey, and I feel she'll be ready when it counts in November." He continued and with a laugh, "She's adjusted very well to life here in the U.S. and if I could only get her to call her Mammy in Dublin more often I'd sleep better at night. There's nothing like a Dublin mother!"