The newcomers to the Illinois women's cross country team have revealed their talent and desire to perform well at the collegiate level.

Illinois' freshmen trio of Sammie Polock, Cassie Hunt and Pam Wolf led the Illini to a fifth place finish at the 18th annual Bradley Open in Peoria, Ill. The women finished within seven seconds of one another.

"The girls worked beautifully together," said Illinois head coach Karen Harvey. "They did not like the fact that they had to hold back. They had the jersey on and felt the nervousness, but we didn't let them run."

The Illini made the often overlooked team concept apparent throughout the meet, running alongside her two classmates during the race.

Harvey's plan was to have the women hold back until they reached the 2,000-meter mark, after which they could pick up their pace.

"At the 2,000-meter point, they went," said Harvey. "No one else closed the race like they did. At the end of the race they were passing really talented runners that were not freshmen."

While this course was new for some of the team, including Hunt, an out-of-state recruit who did not run the course during her high school career, this wasn't the case for most of her teammates.

Bradley's Detweiller Park is the home of the Illinois High School Association's state cross country meet every November.

Illinois' fifth place finish behind Missouri, Marquette, Indiana State and Illinois State was led by Polock. The freshman pulled out in front of the Illini pack to guide the team with a seventh place overall finish in the 5,000-meter race, crossing the finish line with a time of 17 minutes and 59 seconds.

Hunt followed closely behind, finishing ninth. Wolfe checked in third for the Illini with a 12th place finish in Brave territory.

"Finishing first for my team was pretty cool," said Polock. "I was not expecting it. However, we were all so close it doesn't really matter. Cassie Hunt placed second for the team and was only two seconds behind me."

Freshman Alyssa Illian finished 50th while classmate Jenny Brdecka was the final Illini to score by crossing the line 60th. A 67th place finish came to sophomore Ellie Pinzarrone and freshman Kate Kostal placed 73rd. First-year runner Bridget McLeese rounded out the Illini roster with an 81st place finish.

Friday's meet at Michigan State will be the first time this season Illinois will race their 'A' team. Previously, the Illini have considered their competitions to be time trials. Unlike prior races, the Michigan State event is not going to be a practice or a try-out. The team is set and ready to run.

"Right now, (knock on wood) everyone is healthy," said Harvey. "We are ready to roll. Our 'A' team is put together. There are no more time trials, our team is set."