It may not have received the hype of the Iowa-Iowa State football game, but the intrastate rivalry got an early start Friday as both the Iowa and ISU cross country teams took part in the Iowa State Open.

Joining Cyclone and Hawkeye runners on the course were athletes from Wartburg, Upper Iowa, Truman State, South Dakota, Drake, Graceland and Buena Vista. All runners competed individually, so no team scores were totaled from the meet.

The women were first to run, and Wartburg’s Missy Buttry turned the 5,000-meter race into a personal showcase as she crossed the finish line one minute and twenty seconds in front of her closest follower with a time of 17:12.

“She’s just an outstanding runner. She’s one of the top collegiate runners in the country,” ISU women’s coach Dick Lee said of the defending Division III national champion.

The Cyclones received strong finishes from a trio of freshmen, as the top three ISU finishers were making their home debut. Krysta Metz was the first to finish, placing 11th with a time of 20:05. She was followed by Merideth McKean and Amanda Ganser who finished in 14th and 16th place, respectively.

“Krysta Metz ran very well for us; she kept moving up throughout the race as did Merideth McKean. Our top three finishers were all freshmen, so this is a good start for them in their first collegiate race wearing an Iowa State uniform,” Lee said.

The meet also showed runners what to work on.

“Amanda Ganser was our third runner, and she was our first runner through the first two-thirds of the race and found out that she went a little faster then she should have during the first 1,000 meters,” Lee said. “She paid for that during the last mile, but she knows what caused that and it will be a good experience for her for the next race.”

On the men’s side, the Cyclones received another strong performance from Dan Taylor, who ran unattached in the race. Taylor finished the 8,000-meter run fourth with a time of 25:46, one second shy of Truman State’s Alan Heincker and 29 seconds out of first place. Brent Wiberts, who also competed unattached, was the first competitor to cross the finish line, recording a time of 25:17.

“Dan ran well and looked easy out on the course,” men’s head coach Cory Ihmels said. “We had a heavy workload this week and our legs just weren’t there but I’m happy with the way [Taylor] performed.

“I thought he competed well and it’s a good start to the season. Right now, he’s not too happy with [his finish] but that’s why he’s going to be good. You could compare him to smash-mouth football. He just wants to get out there and run you into the ground.”

Iowa State also received a top-10 performance from Ryan Pence, who finished seventh with a time of 26:07, while Ben Fogarty recorded a top-15 showing by finishing 13th.

“I thought we competed well,” Ihmels said. “We all looked the same and as a coach that’s a good thing because it means were all working hard and are on the same page.”

The next Cyclone meet will be on Sept. 27, when Iowa State travels to Minneapolis to take part in the Roy Griak Invitational.