Sophomore Madison Waymire and freshman Andrea Shine ran impressively in the Hawkeye Early Bird Invitational.

By Connor Sindberg
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The Iowa women’s cross-country team kicked off the new season on Sept. 4, hosting the Hawkeye Early Bird Invitational at the Ashton Cross-Country Course.

The Hawkeyes missed out on second place to Illinois State by two seconds and placed third out of four teams in the event. Iowa State, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA, finished as the top dog. Rounding out the meet was Northern Iowa coming in fourth place.

The Cyclones dominated individually, claiming four out of the top five spots. Freshman Evelyne Guay finished first, Katherine DeSimone second, Maryn Lowry third, and Andrea Toppin fourth. The lone Hawkeye in the top five was sophomore Madison Waymire.

“Just staying strong and smooth was the goal, and I think I accomplished that,” Waymire said. “I would’ve liked to place a little bit higher, but in the end, this will be better for me.”

Even with her finishing fifth and red-shirt sophomore Kelly Breen finishing 10th, cross-country coach Layne Anderson knows there is room for improvement.

“I thought newcomers led us,” he said. “Madison [Waymire] and Kelly [Breen] ran well and intelligently, but both left room for improvement.”

Overall the Hawkeyes placed five runners in the top 20. But junior Carolyn Newhouse finished a disappointing 27th, and Alana Jones finished 29th.

Newhouse and Jones are two runners Anderson would like to see improve.   

“We gotta get Carolyn and Alana right for the future meets,” he said. “They know what they’re capable of; today’s race wasn’t an indicator of it, and as a team, we’re certainly not going to dwell on it.”

One runner Anderson was particularly proud of was true freshman Andrea Shine of Crystal Lake, Illinois, who finished 16th in her first college race.

“Andrea really performed well today; I was very pleased with her effort for a true freshman,” Anderson said. “Coming into the season, I thought she could be someone who could help us right away, and I believe today’s performance validated that.”

Junior Tess Wilberding agreed, saying she believes Shine will be an important factor if the team wants to perform well.

“I think we can expect big things from Andrea,” she said. “Andrea has had great practices and has plenty of talent.”

Wilberding isn’t the only one who has confidence in the freshman. Now that Shine has gotten a taste of college racing, she believes in herself.

“Friday’s race showed me where I fit in with the rest of the team, and it also showed me the pace and style of college racing,” she said. “I was nervous going into race day, but after words of advice and strategy from Coach Anderson, I felt relaxed and confident at the starting line.”

Follow @CSindberg32 on Twitter for news, updates, and analysis of the Iowa women’s cross-country team.