What a difference two weeks makes.

After barely finishing inside the top 10 in its first meet, the women’s cross country team has shown that it has the potential to do big things this year by snagging fifth place in last weekend’s invitational.

The Warriors will be going to Irvine Regional Park on Saturday morning to compete in the Irvine Invitational prior to a much-needed week off from competition.

Consectuive weekend meets have taken a toll on the team.

“Right now, we are physically tired. We have been training since July, and although we are very fit, it does get taxing,” coach Dean Lofgren said.

The Warriors will be facing such colleges as L.A. Trade Tech, Mt. San Antonio, and Glendale, which are some tough teams. However, Lofgren is optimistic.

“We should do fairly well in this meet coming up,” he said.

Last Saturday, the Warriors went to Central Park in Huntington Beach to compete in the Golden West Invitational. The team ran against stiff competition, including L.A. Trade Tech, Mt. SAC, and American River.

They ran well in their third meet of the season by capturing fifth place with a combined team point total of 149, which is their best mark of the season.

Finishing just ahead of EC was L.A. Trade Tech at fourth place with 133 points, then Glendale with 91 points, followed by Diablo Valley with 54 points, and first place was Mt.SAC with 36 points.

Lofgren sees every competition as an advancement for the women’s cross country team.

“The women have continued to improve as a team in every meet they have competed in this season,” Lofgren said. “I believe we will see big things as the season goes on. As the team bonds together, the better they will run.”

Maria Colin, who is the Warriors’ top runner, finished in eighth place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 20:27. Right behind Colin was Sandra Lopez with a time of 21:06, then came Yoriko Miyate with a time of 21:47.