KAHUKU, O'ahu – The University of Hawai'i women's cross country team opened the 2019 season finishing second at the 19th annual Big Wave Invitational Saturday morning on the grounds of the Kahuku Golf Course.

"Overall, I was quite pleased with the performance of the team today," said sixth-year head coach Tim Boyce. "We've only been together a short time and just concluded our first week of classes. Eight of our top 10 finishers were running their first race in a UH uniform, they handled everything really well on this hot and humid morning. We're looking forward to seeing where we can take this group."

Hawai'i was paced by senior transfer Shannon McClish, who finished first for UH and 14th overall, finishing with a time of 18:57. The UC Santa Cruz transfer posted a sub-19:00 mark in a 5k race for the first time in two years.  
 
Finishing in tandem fashion, junior Olivia Hill and freshman Rebecca DeKay came down the chute finishing 20^th (20:18) and 21^st (20:20), respectively.
 
Rounding out the scoring five, freshmen Anna Backus (24^th, 20:46) and Sophia Lodigiani (25^th, 20:59) finished fourth and fifth for UH, while competing in their first collegiate meet of their career.
 
Also competing for Hawai'i were Sarriah Brown (28^th, 21:11), Alyssa Barnes (33^rd, 21:40), Lexi Beggan (34^th, 21:44), A'ja-Faith Greene (36^th, 21:49), Sophia Morgan (39^th, 21:52), Jeanalyn Wadsack-Myers (49^th, 22:37) and Terra Stevens (51^st, 22:47).
 
UH totaled 66 points with an average 5k time of 20:16.

Sixth-ranked Brigham Young captured this year's title, totaling 15 points, while George Fox totaled 25 points to win the men's division.
 
Next up, the Rainbow Wahine will compete in its first road meet of the season at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 14 in California.