Iowa women’s cross-country runner Kelsey Hart has been preparing all summer to compete with her team in its first meet today — the Hawkeye Invitational at the Ashton Cross-Country Course.

Although Hart has won a few meets at Ashton in her running career, she has yet do so at the collegiate level.

Hart, one of Iowa’s three freshmen, attended West Branch High and competed on its joint team with City High. In high school, she ran at Ashton around three times a year and set all of her personal records there.

She hopes the course brings her as much success in college as it did in high school.

“I don’t think I’ll be as nervous because it’s a familiar course,” she said. “I’ll probably feel more comfortable running on it than the others who haven’t before.”

While this is Hart’s first experience running the Hawkeye Invitational, the race has occurred since Ashton opened in 2003. Head coach Layne Anderson said the Hawks have won the meet for the past couple of years and hopes the team has similar success this year.

The annual invitational has hosted more than a couple teams in the past, but this meet will only pit the Hawkeyes against Northern Iowa.

Anderson said only 18 of his 21 runners will compete today because of injuries or illnesses. Sophomores Danielle Berndt, McKenzie Melander, and Brittany Dlhy will sit out.

The Panther’s squad consists of 18 runners, 12 of whom are freshmen; only one is a senior. Although Northern Iowa’s team is young, Anderson said his girls cannot overlook the Panthers’ abilities.

“It’s going to be a competitive race,” Anderson said. “We can’t look past anybody. This is almost like a rehearsal, so we will approach this like we would anything else. We’ve won the past couple of years, and you never want to lose at home.”

Junior Amanda Hardesty said she thinks running at home gives her team a definite advantage over the Panthers.

“I definitely like having the meet, and I think it’s a good season-opener,” Hardesty said. “It’s nice being in Iowa City because most of us are familiar with the course. The course is wide, has good paths, and some hills. We’re only doing one loop, so it’s easy to follow.”

The usual distance for a standard cross-country meet is 6 kilometers — 3.72 miles — but the invitational is only 3 — 1.8 miles. Although some of the women said this difference makes it difficult to pace themselves, Hardesty said she thinks it’s beneficial to start the season with shorter races and “work up to the distance.”

Sophomore Betsy Flood agreed that the Hawkeyes have the home-course advantage but noted that Northern Iowa is also at an advantage because its commute is short. She said the Panthers will most likely not be as tired from traveling and they might “bring more to the table.”

But not only Northern Iowa is benefiting from the short commute. The Iowa natives on the Hawkeye squad said there is added excitement around this meet because many of their families and friends are able to make the short trip to cheer them on.

“Because a lot of people I know can come to the race, I will be able to prove to them how good of shape I’m in and how much I’ve improved,” Hart said.