Iowa State’s most experienced runner and least experienced runner contributed to a 12th-place finish at the prestigious 23-team Minnesota Invitational at Minneapolis Saturday.

Sydney Pounds, Iowa State’s top finisher at the NCAA Cross Country Championship last season, finished 19th with a time of 17 minutes 33 seconds. Jane Groves, a transfer from England running her first race in the United States, finished 41st with a time of 17:59.

“We were a little disappointed with the results of the meet,” Iowa State Coach Dick Lee said. “We felt we could have run a little better, but it was a strong field.”

Pounds won the season-opening Northern Iowa Invitational Sept. 20. She improved her time by 32 seconds Saturday.

Groves was not only competing in her first collegiate meet, but also her first race in the United States. She said she was not used to running in such a crowded field. “I didn’t start running properly until about the one-kilometer mark,” Groves said. “The whole race was kind of a shock to my system. I was really looking forward to running in my first race. Now I will know what to expect the rest of the season.”

Defending champion Providence swept to the team title with the top two runners.

“Coming out of this meet, I saw some performances by our runners that indicated we could have a good team in another month or so,” Lee said. “But right now we have a lot of room for improvement.”

Iowa State Men’s Cross Country Coach Kevin Bourke labeled Saturday’s Minnesota Invitational as a “typical” first meet.

Sophomore Kevin Farrow’s sixth-place finish helped ISU finish ninth out of 19 teams.

“You don’t know what to expect from the first meet,” Bourke said. “I thought the majority of the team ran well.”

Farrow ran the course in 24 minutes 41 seconds. It was questionable in the days leading up to the meet if Farrow would be able to run because of calf and back injuries.

“Kevin ran a really gutty race with all the injuries he had,” Bourke said. “He hung in there and finished with the leaders. I didn’t even know if he would have been able to finish the race.”

Simeon Wright finished 30th with a time of 25:12 and Saul Limpirikany finished 34th at 35:19 for ISU.

“Simeon and Saul both did what I told them to do before the race, they started conservatively, staying with the middle of the pack,” Bourke said. “We know now that they can push it more in the middle of the race.”

Third-ranked Wisconsin won the meet with four top-20 finishers. No. 4 Northern Arizona finished second with three top-20 finishers.

“A meet like this gives you a good indication of where you are at in the early part of the season,” Bourke said. “We have something to build on, we know what we have to do to get better.”