The evening of Sept. 1 was meant for racing, and racing it held.

The sun slowly set over Iowa’s first meet of the year, the Hawkeye Invitational, as the running began. The event featured eight schools, with 137 athletes competing in front of a large Iowa fan section.

Iowa did not disappoint the fans, as both the women’s and men’s teams recorded top-three finishes.

The evening opened with the women’s 4,000 meters. The 4K snaked through the Ashton Cross-Country Course’s rolling terrain, providing spectators with a unique vantage point.

The dual-style meet put the Iowa women head-to-head with six other teams.

Andrea Shine paced the Hawkeyes, coming in sixth with a time of 13:58.7.

“I want to keep improving my place and time in each meet,” she said. “If I keep up in the front pack, I’ll be happy at the end of the season.”

Shine’s time was good enough for seventh all-time at Iowa in the 4,000 meters.

Iowa’s Madison Waymire (14:03.3), Marta Bote Gonzalez (14:33.0), and Julie Hollensbe (14:38.0) came in eighth, 14th, and 17th, respectively.

Waymire joined Shine in the Hawkeye record books, coming in at ninth all-time with her finish.

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“I’m really pleased with our top four women in the race,” head coach Randy Hasenbank said. “They have worked really hard and have solidified themselves. I like the way [Andrea] and Madison took the race out, maybe a little quick the first kilometer, but we’ve talked about being much more aggressive to compete on the national level with some of the nation’s top athletes.”

Two freshmen were the race’s top finishers. Iowa State’s Callie Logue’s 13:45.2 won the 4K, and Iowa Central’s Adva Cohen ran a 13:50.1 to secure second.

Iowa State dominated the women’s race, placing four of the top five runners and winning every head-to-head matchup.

Iowa beat Drake (18-43), UNI (23-32), Illinois State (19-39), and Iowa Central (24-32). The Hawkeyes lost to Iowa State (16-44).

The men’s 6,000-meter race followed.

Again, Iowa State cleaned up the field, placing six of the top-10 runners. Festus Lagat of Iowa State won the race with a time of 17:49.2.

Iowa’s Ian Eklin was Iowa’s first finisher with a time of 18:10.7, which earned him 10th place and a school 6K record. The previous best by a Hawkeye was Michael Melchert’s 2016 run of 18:12.

Melchert, a senior, did not compete in the season-opener.

Despite rewriting Hawkeye history, Eklin wasn’t satisfied.

“It’s a school record, so I’m proud of that,” the junior said. “But I knew I could have ran faster, so it’s bittersweet to say the least … I think I fell short with staying with that Iowa State pack, but I’m excited to give myself another chance at this next meet so I can go with those guys and even better guys … I’m definitely going to run with a chip on my shoulder here on out.”

Hawkeyes Nathan Mylenek took 15th place with a time of 18:26.4, and teammate Daniel Gardarsson was 20th, running 18:36.9.

Mylenek’s time ranks fifth all-time in the program.

Iowa’s Daniel Soto came in 24th with a time of 18:41.5.

The Iowa men beat Drake (23-38), Creighton (15-50), Northern Iowa (19-44), and Illinois State (18-45), only losing to Iowa State (15-48) and Iowa Central (26-31).