The Cyclone men’s and women’s cross country teams flew to South Carolina to run at the NCAA pre-meet at the Furman University on-campus golf course.

Iowa State’s Saul Lempirikany finished fourth out of 169 runners in the warm Saturday competition. He was followed by teammate David Lichoro, who crossed the line only two seconds behind.

Amber Garrett led the women’s team by claiming 78th in the women’s field. Garrett clocked in at 18:38.

ISU’s Laurie Meythaler covered the course in 18:50 and Emily Martini finished seven seconds later.

The men’s team finished 10th out of 26 teams and the women’s wound up 20th out of 23 teams.

Kevin Bourke, men’s coach, said the runners did not do well as a team but had some individual improvements.

Bourke said the team had some high expectations going into the competition, but suffered when runner Kevin Farrow dropped out shortly after the mile mark because of calf injuries.

Bourke said even though the team missed Farrow’s contribution, Farrow could have aggravated his calf injury enough to end his season after crossing the finish line of Saturday’s competition.

On a more positive note, he said, “We made some pretty good progress with the rest of our guys. The best is yet to come.”

Tait Steines, a true freshman, finished fourth for the team, placing 129th.

Steines said southern-based competition was a little muddy and the competition was tough, but he said he believes the team is improving despite their “okay” showing.

He said he is looking forward to ISU’s upcoming meets. “I know I can run better,” he said.

Bourke complimented Steines’ transition to college competition by saying the Cyclone has made “pretty good adjustments.”

Bourke said other individuals on the team are making personal strides and everyone is “working toward peaking at the right time.”

The fifth Cyclone finisher, Matt Williams, also said the team’s performance wasn’t great, but agreed with Bourke that the team is seeing improvements.

“We didn’t run well as a team, but we have the potential to be a great team. Everyone has to get healthy and run well on the same day,” Williams said.

Health is also a characteristic the Cyclone women are hoping to secure.

Due to injury, Martini, the team’s lead runner, has not been at her best since the season opener in September.

In the Minnesota race, Martini decided not to compete the morning of the race in order to allow her leg to heal for upcoming important meets. She is still recovering.

Garrett, who has stepped into the front runner spot, said, “It wasn’t really that great of a meet because Emily, our top runner, is not in top form yet.”

Garrett said she didn’t feel focused and is already looking forward to improving in the upcoming home meet.

Although she was dissatisfied with her own performance, Garrett said teammate Laurie Meythaler had a good race and she believes the team is getting better from meet to meet.

“We’re starting to run more as a pack I think,” Garrett said.

Both teams remain focused on the ever-closer Big 12 conference meet and the NCAA meet.

This weekend, the Cyclone runners go the distance at home while hosting the ISU Invite on Saturday morning.

The women are set to start at 11 a.m., and the men’s loop commences at 11:30 a.m. at the Iowa State Cross Country Course.