The No. 17 Iowa State women’s cross country team opened its 2019 season by finishing second at the annual Hawkeye Invitational on Friday in Iowa City.

Senior Abby Caldwell led the way for the Cyclones and the rest of the field over the 4,000m course, finishing first overall with a time of 14 minutes and 2 seconds. While Caldwell trailed Hawkeye freshman Leah Kralovetz at the halfway mark, the senior improved her turnover for the second 2,000m by running an 8 second improvement of 6:54.8 over the final kick to victory while Kralovetz fell back to sixth in the standings.

Iowa State also had two other runners finish in the top 10 as junior Gwynne Wright and freshman Madelynn Hill paced themselves to the eighth and ninth spots respectively, finishing with times of 14:27 and 14:29.2.

Despite these finishes however, the Cyclones ultimately finished second to Iowa in the seven team meet, ending up with 47 points to the Hawkeyes’ 36 as they had four runners finish in the top 10, collecting just enough points to squeeze by.

Other notable performances for the Cyclones included top-25 finishes by Dana Feyen in 12th, Janette Schaft in 17th and Morgan Gigandet in 21st, all freshmen who made their debuts.

Fellow freshman Alexis Gourrier paced to 32nd while juniors Brina Kraft and Anna Herriott rounded out the Cyclone lineup with finishes of 37th and 53rd, respectively.

The Cyclones have some time to rest before their next test, as they will travel to South Bend, Indiana on October 4th for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational at 1 p.m.

Women’s Team Results:

1. Iowa: 36 pts.

2. Iowa State: 47 pts.

3. Iowa Central CC: 49 pts.

4. Northern Iowa: 110 pts.

5. Drake: 123 pts.

6. Illinois State: 148 pts.

7. Hawkeye CC: 225 pts.

Women’s Team Individual Finishes:

1. Abby Caldwell, 14:02.0

8. Gwynne Wright, 14:27.0

9. Madelynn Hill, 14:29.2

12. Dana Feyen, 14:38.4

17. Janette Schraft, 14:49.8

21. Morgan Gigandet, 14:54.8

32. Alexis Gourrier, 15:22.3

37. Brina Kraft, 15:30.6

53. Anna Herriott, 16:22.5