Sept. 19, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After nearly three weeks of training, the Nittany Lion men's and women's cross country teams are ready to race again, heading to the Bronx, N.Y., for the Iona Meet of Champions in historic Van Cortland Park. The meet will feature some tough competition from the Northeast, including the Iona men, who are ranked third in the country.
About the Meet:
What: The Iona Meet of Champions
Where: Van Cortland Park; Bronx, N.Y.
When: Saturday, Sept. 22; Women - 9:30 a.m.; Men - 10:15 a.m.
Race Distance: Women - 6K; Men - 8K
The Competition:
Men's Teams
Albany, American, Army, SUNY Brockport, Brown, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, Harvard, Iona College, Keene State, Kutztown, Le Moyne, Long Island, Manhattan, Marist, UMass Lowell, Monmouth, Navy, NJIT, West Virginia Wesleyan, Youngstown State
Women's Teams
Albany, Army, SUNY Brockport, Brown, Connecticut, Cornell, Dartmouth, Fairleigh, Dickinson, Harvard, Iona College, Keene State, Kutztown, Le Moyne, Long Island, Manhattan, Marist, UMass Lowell, Monmouth, NJIT, West Virginia Wesleyan, Youngstown State
Results:
Results will be posted on Iona's Championship Website following Saturday's events.
Check www.GoPSUsports.com for a full recap and results on Saturday evening.
Lions to Watch:
Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) and Brian Fuller (Camp Hill, Pa.) managed individual wins in the season opening meet at Lock Haven and were both named Big Ten Runner for the Week for their gold-medal efforts. Looking to build on strong opening performances are sophomore Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) and senior Teddy Quinn (Rush, N.Y). The Lions also got solid openers from redshirt-freshman Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.), and true freshman Lucas Zarzeczny (Pittsburgh, Pa.), in their first career collegiate cross country races.
At the Lock Haven Dolan Duals:
Earlier this month, the Lions dominated the competition at the Dolan Duals at Lock Haven, as both teams posted perfect scores behind winning efforts from Franek and Fuller. On the women's side, Spring, Rosenfeld, and Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) finished within 12 seconds of one another in the 2-3-4 slots. Junior Kathryn Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rounded out the Lion top five. Fuller and Quinn posted the one-two finish in the men's race, with Zarzeczny finishing less than two seconds behind. Dennis Pollow (Ransomville, N.Y.) and Dennis O'Connor (Philadelphia) closed out the scoring on the men's side, as the Nittany Lions finished with just a 20-second gap between their first and fifth runners.
Next Up:
The Lions will host their first home competition of the season on Saturday, Sept. 29, with the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational. The meet is named after long-time men's head coach Harry Groves, who retired following the 2006 track and field season. Both Nittany Lion squads finished second at the meet last year. The event begins at 10 a.m., and also features a highly competitive high school invitational following the collegiate races.