The Iowa State women’s cross country team gave a strong showing in its season debut Friday at the Iowa State Open.

The Cyclones finished second behind Northern Iowa in the unofficial team standings with a total of 46 points. The Panthers totaled 43 points to lead the six-team field. No official team scores were kept.

Andrea Crapisi led the Cyclones, finishing third with a time of 18:58, while teammate Alienor Gilchrist was right behind in fourth place in 19:02.

The Cyclones also got a top-ten finish from Laurie Meythaler, who placed sixth in 19:14.

“I was pleased with how the team ran today. Our top three girls all ran really solid races,” said Cyclone coach Dick Lee. “We had 20 kids run today, and for the most part, good things happened.”

Other Cyclone finishes were Emily Martini, 14th, 19:40; Car Van Eck, 30th, 20:38; Laura Bahnson, 31st, 20:48; Jennifer Crapisi, 35th, 21:03; Amanda Richardson, 50th, 22:10; Maaike Ouwersloot, 53rd, 22:39.

Gilchrist was happy with her season-opening performance and felt the event offered a lot of positives to the squad.

“I think I was a little bit off my time from last year, but I felt good out there. It was nice starting the season off with a low-key meet like this on a nice day,” said Gilchrist. “This gave the team a chance to kind of ease into running 5K races.”

The surprise of the day for the Cyclones came from true freshman Kelly Brinkman, who was competing in her first-ever collegiate meet.

Brinkman, who was one of seven freshman who ran unattached, finished ninth with a time of 19:23.

“I feel good but I was really nervous before the meet because I had no idea what to expect. Once the race started, the nerves went away, but then the reality of the long race set in, and there was a little doubt of whether I was going to make it,” said Brinkman. “This was my first Division I meet, plus the first time I’ve run a 5K race, so even though it was a small meet, it was kind of overwhelming.”

For Brinkman, the race length of 5K was a new and tough experience after running only 4K in high school.

She was quick to credit the Cyclone varsity runners for their support.

“I could definitely tell the difference between the two lengths. Plus the hills in the back of the course made it tough also,” said Brinkman. “Alienor, Laurie and all the veterans are really good about encouraging and relaxing so it was a lot of fun.”

Lee liked what he saw from his squad in its first meet and hopes to keep building for the big races at the end of the season.

“For a season-opener, I was happy with the girls. We had some freshmen get their first college meet experience so it’s a good thing to build on,” said Lee. “We’re going to use each week to get into better shape and work toward the major races at the end of October.”

The Cyclones are back in action Sept. 25 at the Minnesota Invitational.