A group of fresh faces led the ISU women’s cross country team when the Cyclones hosted the ISU Open Sept. 12 in Ames.

The first three Cyclone runners to cross the finish line were all competing in their first races wearing the cardinal and gold, providing a new base for this season’s Cyclone runners.

Even with four returning teammates on the sidelines, runners Krysta Metz (11th place in 20:05), Meredith McKean (14th, 20:14) and Amanda Ganser (16th, 20:16) all produced solid finishes.

Ganser and McKean are true freshmen, while Metz is running after redshirting last season.

“They did a good job, and we’re counting on improvement from week to week,” women’s coach Dick Lee said.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how they [continue to] do in the races. [The Roy Griak Invitational] will be an eye-opener for the freshmen.”

Competition will be intense at the invitational, as many of the top collegiate programs will be competing. The race will be held on Saturday in Minneapolis.

This weekend will also be the first team meet for the Cyclones, as team scores were not tallied at the ISU Open.

While all three are new to the college program, they have plenty of experience and desire from which to draw.

All three qualified for their state cross country meets in high school, and they all have been working hard in preparation for this season, Lee said.

“[Coach Lee] set an estimate of how many miles I should put in through the summer,” McKean said. “Hopefully we’re all in the mix — it’s hard to tell [at this point]. These are longer races [than high school]. But we’re working together as a team, and sticking together and pushing each other.”

With only one meet under their belts, the girls are using practice time as a chance to improve, as well as to learn from their older teammates.

“You learn a lot from seniors and try to follow them,” Ganser said. “So far, we’re just trying to learn and gain experience.”

McKean also sees value in watching the older, more experienced runners.

“We have a good mix of experience and new people,” McKean said.

“Everyone has blended well together, and they use their experience to teach us and we look up to them.

“In practice we try to run together and cheer each other on — it really helps with our training.”

The team tries to take the techniques they use in practice and move them onto the course for meets.

“We try to stick together in practice and if one person pulls away, then we’re going with [them],” Metz said. “Hopefully, we can do that in meets as well.”