BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—The women's cross country team opened their season against strong competition and finished in fourth place at the Coaching Tree Invitational hosted by Indiana on Friday morning. Fifth-year senior Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) led Villanova with a 14^th place finish out of more than 100 individuals from 12 competing teams. Later on Friday additional members of the Wildcats roster will compete in the local Main Line Invitational at Haverford.
 
There were three nationally-ranked squads among the 12 teams that made up the women's 6,000 meter race in Indiana. The unique meet was held to honor Hoosiers head coach Ron Helmer who is retiring at the end of the season. Each of the competing teams in the men's and women's races on Friday are coached by someone who ran for or coached with Helmer.
 
Olivere recorded a time of 20:38.8 on the IU Championship Cross Country Course to pace the Villanova lineup. She ran near the front of the pack early in the race and then closed strong over the final 1000 meters in which she passed four runners on her way to the finish line. The other scoring runners for the Wildcats were sophomore Emily Robinson (Rogers, Ark.), graduate student Ariana Gardizy (Lansdale, Pa.), freshman Amelia Arrieta (Kansas City, Mo.) and redshirt freshman Emma McGill (Lebanon, N.J.).
 
Robinson passed three runners during the last 1000 meters to move into 28^th place overall in a field of 108 runners. She crossed the line with a time of 21:12.8, while Gardizy followed in 34^th place with a time of 21:20.3 and Gardizy finished 36^th in 21:21.9. McGill got out to a fast start in her first collegiate cross country race and was near the front of the pack after the first 1000 meters before settling into a steady pace the rest of the way. She finished 43^rd overall in 21:42.7.
 
The trio of Gardizy, Arrieta and McGill were all running their first cross country races in a Villanova singlet. Gardizy is a graduate transfer from Penn, Arrieta was making her collegiate debut in the race and McGill redshirted the 2021 cross country season before competing during the indoor and outdoor track & field campaigns. All seven runners for the Wildcats finished in the top half of the field. Junior Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) came in 50^th overall with a time of 21:51.4 and sophomore Margaret Carroll (Mount Wolf, Pa.) was 53^rd in 21:58.7.
 
Villanova received votes in the national rankings released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) earlier this week. Friday's meet was a good test to begin the season for a Wildcats roster which features an even mix of experienced veterans and up-and-coming runners. Villanova finished four spots ahead of No. 21 Northern Arizona, while the field of competition also included No. 13 North Carolina and No. 19 Georgetown.
 
Friday afternoon's three-mile race in the Main Line Invitational gets underway at 4:45 p.m. on the Alumni Course at Haverford.