Heading into the Big 12 Championships in Manhattan, Kan., ISU women’s golf coach Julie Manning set a goal for her team to finish in the top half of the field.

The Cyclones exited the competition with their mission accomplished.

The ISU squad left the Colbert Hills Golf Club with a fifth-place finish, their highest since the conference was formed in 1997.

Junior Leanne Owens credits all of her teammates with contributing to the effort.

“We’ve been waiting to shoot some good scores, [and] it came together at the right time for us,” she said.

Owens led the Cyclones through the first two rounds before falling back on Sunday. Sophomore Lisa Meshke stepped in to finish first among ISU competitors after shooting 231 for the three-day event, placing her in the 16th position.

“It just felt really good to put some rounds together, knowing that each shot mattered,” Meshke said.

Poor weather Saturday didn’t allow many golfers to finish the round, forcing them to play more than 18 holes on Sunday.

“We played almost 27 holes on the same day,” Meshke said. “It was pretty windy. The course seemed to harden up, which means that the ball was hard to stick [onto the greens].”

Even with the adverse conditions, the Cyclones passed host Kansas State during the final round to complete the program’s best result in a conference championship since placing second at the 1996 Big 8 Championship.

“It feels great to finish in the top half of the Big 12,” Meshke said. “It speaks volumes for our program.”

With the regular season completed, the Cyclones now await word on a possible invitation to the NCAA Central Region Championships, taking place May 9-11 in Baton Rouge, La.

Owens said that the team will practice this week in anticipation of a possible invite, as well as in preparation for summer tournament play.

“It’s pretty much wait-and-see because we won’t find out until next week,” she said.

Even if the Cyclones do not make the postseason this year, hopes remain high for next year with all five traveling team members slated to return.

“We’re all really excited for [the future],” Owens said. “We should be able to keep improving.”