The Iowa State women’s cross country team had five of the top eight finishers to sweep to the team title of the Illinois Invitational at Champaign, Ill. Saturday.

Jane Groves, a transfer from the University of Birmingham in England, was the Cyclone’s top-place finisher at third.

Sydney Pounds finished fifth, Emily Martini sixth, Jana Peterson seventh and Laurie Meythaler eighth.

ISU finished with 24 points to second-place finisher Ball State’s 56.

“This meet is definitely a confidence builder for us,” ISU Coach Dick Lee said. “It puts us in good shape with our home meet and the Big 12 (Conference) Meet coming up.”

The Cyclones will host the Iowa State Memorial Classic at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Iowa State cross country course.

“The main focus of our training is focused on the last meets of the season, specifically regionals and nationals,” Lee said.

Saturday’s first-place finish was the second of the season for the Cyclones in their first three meets. They also took first place honors at the season-opening Northern Iowa meet.

“We have shown improvement during every meet,” Lee said. “That is the most important thing. Sure, high team finishes are nice, but we are really looking to the end of the season to measure our success.”