In the mud and rain of the South Dakota Mines Invitational cross country meet two weeks ago, one team had an additional challenge.

Most of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology women's cross country runners were competing in their first race.

Unlike most of the teams at the meet or most of the meets they will compete in this season, Mines' squad has three freshmen runners in the top five: Amanda McConnell, Alexis Godeke and Elizabeth Kelly.

"Our team has five girls; we barely made a full team," junior Kendra Crisman said. "At our school, it is tough to recruit athletes."

The team had six runners from last year, and only two of them returned for this fall. The upperclassmen are Kendall Donegan, a senior, and Crisman.

After the Mines Invite race at Robbinsdale Park - the same site as the conference meet - Mines head coach Jerry Schafer is optimistic about the women and is encouraged by the women's efforts.

"We are getting stronger and there is always a learning curve," Schafer said after the race. "I think our freshmen gals will come around and give us a little strength by the end of the season."

Getting accustomed to the college level is a challenge for the freshmen. For the Mines team, the freshmen hit the ground running.

The longer distances are the biggest adjustment, Godeke said. The runners must run longer distances in college than in high school, and they must be more conscious of pacing themselves.

"When we came from high school, we started way too fast (at the college level)," Crisman said.

The runners say that it is hard to build a women's cross country team at Mines because the school does not draw many women. Godeke, who is from Ohio, said she chose Mines because of its academic program, its small size and costs. McConnell chose Mines because it is cheaper than attending Colorado School of Mines in her home state.

The Hardrockers are back in action Oct. 3 when both the men and women travel to the Colorado Rocky Mountain Shootout.