Every outing the ISU women’s cross country team has taken part in, Lisa Koll has been at the front.

Koll finished 18th out of 114 runners at the South Dakota State University Invitational on Saturday, turning in the top Cyclone time.

Overall, the women placed sixth out of 12 teams. Koll said she expected an improvement on her time of 19:17 from the ISU Open on Sept. 9.

“The course [at South Dakota] was flat, while at the ISU Open, it’s a hilly course, and it was hot,” she said. “My goal was to get into the top 20 and I got my goal. I’m not upset with how I ran, but I feel there’s still a lot to achieve.”

Finishing as the top Cyclone in her first three collegiate cross country meets has come as only a slight shock to the freshman from Fort Dodge.

“I wanted to be up there when I came here,” Koll said. “I put in a lot of miles this summer and my goal was to be at the front of Iowa State’s team. I didn’t expect to come in like this, but I thought that I could. I felt I put in enough training to come in at the beginning and perform well straight off the bat.”

Koll’s success has come as no surprise to junior Meredith McKean, who was the second Cyclone to cross the line in 41st place (19:23).

“We’re all excited she’s doing well,” McKean said.

“We’ve all been working hard and getting stronger in practice.”

McKean dropped more than a minute on her 5 km run since the ISU Open.

“It’s hard to judge times from course to course,” she said. “From here on out, it’s all 6Ks.”

In the first three meets of the season, the women have had a 5 km run, followed by a 6 km and then a 5 km. Adjusting to that change in distance can be difficult, she said.

“For me, it’s harder going back to a 5K,” McKean said. “You keep telling yourself, ‘I’ve got to pick it up’ because it’s a shorter distance. I think of 6Ks at a 5K pace. It’s a 5K with an extra 1,000 meters.”

McKean said next weekend will be used to focus on training in preparation for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Invitational on Oct.15, followed by the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 28.

Both Koll and McKean have not made individual goals for the conference meet as of yet.

“I don’t really know where I stand for conference or regionals yet,” Koll said.

“I want to keep improving my times and keep up with the competition.

“It’s too far away right now. Right now, I need to concentrate on training and taking it day by day and week by week.”

As a team, McKean would like to see the young Cyclones finish somewhere between eighth and 10th in the conference.

“After only one 6K, it’s hard for me to judge where I’m at individually,” she said.