No scores – just three teams and an early Saturday morning. Not exactly key ingredients providing the motivation to run.

Maybe so, but the ISU women’s cross country team was put to action at the ISU invite Saturday at the ISU cross country course.

“It was a low key meet and hard to get excited,” said junior Jessica Huff, the team’s top placer. “It was early in the morning.”

The Cyclones also hosted Northern Iowa and Minnesota in the shortened 4,000-meter, nonscoring meet.

But all was not lost.

“It was about 50-50 for us,” head coach Dick Lee said. “Some kids raced well, some didn’t have their best day.”

After leading the beginning of the race, Huff finished third behind two Minnesota runners with a time of 14:19.54.

Running second for the Cyclones was junior Darolyn Trembath, placing seventh with a time of 14:48.79.

“Jessica ran a solid race,” Lee said. “She didn’t feel like she was hyped up – it wasn’t one of our big meets. Darolyn ran one of her better races.”

The conditions and downplayed atmosphere didn’t have any impact on Trembath’s attitude.

“I thought it was a great race,” Trembath said. “We went out as a team and wanted to stay together. A big pack came through and I chose to go with them.”

Iowa State’s Cara Van Eck placed 13th with a time of 14:54.60, while teammate Jessica Dahlberg followed four seconds later to secure 14th place. Jill Latham placed 24th in 15:29.67.

“Jessica [Dahlberg] and Jill ran well,” Lee said. “Cara had an OK race – her last two were better, but everybody has down races now and then. Several kids were sore after the Minnesota meet last week, and we had an off week of training.”

Now the focus shifts to the NCAA pre-meet invitational in Indiana on Oct. 19.

Huff, junior in animal ecology, said her goal is to run “with the elite runners” at the meet. “Some of the best teams in nationals will be there,” Huff said.

As for the team, Huff wants the next meet to be a strong race for every member.

“It’s getting frustrating getting done with the race and hearing people say they didn’t run well,” Huff said. “I just want everybody to have a good race.”

Coach Lee plans to have a few intense workouts before tapering off for competition.

“Our focus is to keep improving and keep getting in better condition,” Lee said.