After a disappointing start to the season, the women’s cross-country team is hitting its stride at the right time.
In the three regular-season races this season, the Hawkeyes finished fifth at the Sept. 11 Illinois State Invitational, 19th at the Oct. 2 Notre Dame Invitational, and seventh at the Oct. 16 Bradley Pink Classic.
Even though the Hawks had their best finish early in the season, the team’s race times have improved from race-to-race.
“I think the reason we have improved every meet is because we all work great together as a group,” said junior Tess Wilberding. “We’ve been trusting in our coach’s training, and we’ve followed his plan.”
Throughout the season, the Hawks have put an emphasis on improvement.
They tallied a total team time of 1:30:19 at the Notre Dame Invitational, more than two minutes better than the 1:32:28 they ran at the Illinois State Invitational.
And they backed up their performance at Notre Dame with another excellent showing at the Bradley Pink Classic, finishing with a time of (106.66.9) in their first 6,000-meter race.
Sophomore Madison Waymire has had a major effect in each race, who has finished as top runner for the Hawkeyes in each competition this season.
Waymire believes that the team is moving in the right direction at the part of the season that matters most.
“We’re in a great spot right now, coming into the championship part of the season,” she said. “We have been starting to put things together as a team at the right time, which has given us a lot of confidence for the Big Ten Championships.”
Head coach Layne Anderson was excited to see the women pick up their pace at the Bradley Pink Classic.
“I thought the meet at Bradley was by far the best meet of the year,” he said. “We picked up some positive momentum as we approach the Big Ten and Regional Championships.”
A runner that is riding the positive momentum wave is freshman walk-on Andrea Shine. She has been a reliable finisher for the Hawks, placing in the top five in team rankings in each competition this season.
Shine attributes her success this season to leadership from her teammates and coach.
“The bond we share as teammates translates well into competition because we continually push each other to run the best we can,” she said. “Coach also has a well-thought-out plan to have us peak at the right time, and because we all believe in his training, our times continue to get faster and faster.”
With the Hawks hitting their in time for the Big Ten and regional , they have big expectations for the postseason.
“The team is looking very good right now and can build on these last couple meets and have even greater performances in the meets to come,” Waymire said.