Iowa cross-country got its season off to an impressive start at the Hawkeye Invitational on Aug. 31, when senior Andrea Shine picked up a win and Dan Soto and Ian Eklin finished in the top-10 of their race.

After finishing sixth at the event last year, Shine moved up to first to kick off her last season, running 14:07 in the 4,000 meters — more than 13 seconds faster than second-place Abby Caldwell of Iowa State. Last year, Shine ran a 13:58 at the Hawkeye Invitational, good for seventh all-time at Iowa.

“I knew she was very fit, and I’m not surprised at all,” Iowa head coach Randy Hasenbank said. “She ran pretty comfortably. She’s gaining confidence by the year. She’s just gotten better, and better, and better, so no surprise there at all.”

Hawkeyes Megan Schott and Anna Hostetler kept pace with Shine for a good chunk of the race, but they couldn’t complete the trifecta. Schott finished fourth at 14:23, and Hostetler fell to 14th at 14:51.

On the men’s side, Soto and Eklin both ran a 18:44.3 in the 6,000 meters to finish ninth and 10th.

At the 2017 Hawkeye Invitational, Eklin ran the fastest time in Iowa history, posting a time of 18:10.

Freshman Spencer Smith, who placed 12th (18:49) and senior Daniel Murphy, who ran a 19:02 to place 19th, followed Soto and Eklin among the Hawkeye harriers.