KAHUKU, O'ahu – Under the guidance of fourth-year cross country coach Tim Boyce, the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine kicked off the 2017 season on a beautiful Saturday morning at Kahuku Golf Course, finishing second as hosts of the 17th annual Big Wave Invitational.
 
"I'm relatively pleased with the results," Boyce said. "I didn't know what to expect. We've had an interesting start to the season and those that we lined up and raced today competed quite well. I'm cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season and the potential that we have for growth."
 
With the lead position still in a scramble at the middle point, Eugene, Ore. junior Danielle Girard emerged as the top finisher for Hawai'i in her first NCAA race. The Lane College transfer was competing in her first cross country meet in nearly two years, coming down the chute in fifth with a 5k time of 19:45.
 
"I think that this first meet went pretty well," Girard said. "The first meet is always a little rough, even when I am more in cross country shape. There's definitely a lot of room for improvement, but I did a lot better than I was expecting, so it gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the season from here.
 
"I liked the course, it was a really pretty view the entire time and the grass was nice and soft. It's also way better than 40 degrees and raining, which is what we get in Oregon when it gets wintery out there."
 
Three additional Rainbow Wahine finished in the top 10, giving UH some leverage in the field. Sophomore Lisa Tashiro came in eighth, slicing 54 seconds off her personal best for a time of 20:10. Up next for UH, just steps behind was freshman Sienna Santiago in ninth at 20:12 and junior Giovanna Casazza in 10th at 20:21, matching her career best.
 
Rounding out the UH scorers, sophomore Piper McDonald finished 17th in 20:48.
 
Also competing for the Rainbow Wahine in Saturday's opener, junior Kai Hoshijo was 21st (21:14), sophomore Alison Bowman was 23rd with a new PR (21:27) and freshman Olivia Hill was 25th (21:54).
 
Hawai'i logged 49 points overall with an average time of 20:15, behind leader Pacific (Calif.) with 26 points and a 19:52 average. In dual scoring with Pacific (20), UH scored 36.
 
The Rainbow Wahine jump right into road meets beginning next week, but not with a visit to the mainland. Rather, Hawai'i will travel to the UH Hilo Invitational on Sept. 9 for its first appearance on the Big Island since 2013.