Nov. 6, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - As the end of the cross country season draws near for much of the country, the Nittany Lion men's and women's teams will hope to add one more competition to their schedules by earning bids to the NCAA Championships, this weekend at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships at Lehigh University. The Penn State women enter the weekend as the nation's 28th-ranked team, while the Nittany Lion men are rated sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
About the Meet:
What: NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships
Where: Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh University)
When: Saturday, November 10; Men - 11 a.m.; Women - 12:15 p.m.
Race Distances: Women - 6K; Men - 10K
The Competition:
Men's Teams
American (Mid-Atlantic, No. 7)
Bucknell (Mid-Atlantic, No. 11)
Coppin State
Delaware (Mid-Atlantic, No. 14)
Duquesne (Mid-Atlantic, No. 9)
Fairleigh Dickinson
George Washington
Georgetown (NCAA, No. 14; Mid-Atlantic, No. 1)
Howard
La Salle (Mid-Atlantic, No. 4)
Lafayette
Lehigh (Mid-Atlantic, No. 12)
Longwood
Loyola (Md.)
Marshall
Maryland (Mid-Atlantic, No. 10)
Maryland-Eastern Shore
Monmouth
Morgan State
Mount St. Mary's
Navy (Mid-Atlantic, No. 8)
Penn (Mid-Atlantic, No. 5)
Penn State (Mid-Atlantic, No. 6)
Pittsburgh (Mid-Atlantic, No. 12)
Princeton (NCAA, No. 29; Mid-Atlantic, No. 2)
Rider
Robert Morris
Rutgers (Mid-Atlantic, No. 15)
Seton Hall
St. Francis (Pa.)
St. Joseph's (Pa.) (Mid-Atlantic, No. 13)
St. Peter's
Temple
UMBC
Villanova (NCAA, ORV; Mid-Atlantic, No. 3)
Women's Teams
American (Mid-Atlantic, No. 15)
Bucknell (Mid-Atlantic, T-8)
Coppin State
Delaware (Mid-Atlantic, No. 14)
Delaware State
Duquesne (Mid-Atlantic, No. 11)
Fairleigh Dickinson
George Washington
Georgetown (NCAA, No. 20; Mid-Atlantic, No. 3)
Howard
La Salle (Mid-Atlantic, No. 7)
Lafayette
Lehigh
Longwood
Loyola (Md.)
Marshall
Maryland (Mid-Atlantic, No. 10)
Maryland-Eastern Shore
Monmouth
Morgan State
Mount St. Mary's
Navy (Mid-Atlantic, T-8)
Penn (Mid-Atlantic, No. 6)
Penn State (NCAA, No. 28; Mid-Atlantic, No. 4)
Pittsburgh (Mid-Atlantic, No. 12)
Princeton (NCAA, No. 4; Mid-Atlantic, No. 1)
Rider
Robert Morris
Rutgers (Mid-Atlantic, No. 13)
Seton Hall
St. Francis (Pa.)
St. Joseph's (Pa.)
St. Peter's
Temple
Towson
UMBC
Villanova (NCAA, ORV; Mid-Atlantic, No. 5)
West Virginia (NCAA, No. 14, Mid-Atlantic, No. 2)
ORV - Others receiving votes in national poll.
Rankings :: Current USTFCCCA Poll
Results:
Results and complete Penn State recap will be posted on www.GoPSUsports.com Saturday evening. Full results can be found at www.lehighsports.com, and www.NCAA.org.
Advancement:
The top two teams at each of the nine NCAA regional sites will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19, leaving the remaining squads still eligible to gain one of 13 at-large slots in the national meet. The top four individual finishers, who are not on an advancing team, will also be invited to the NCAA meet.
Women's Preview:
After finishing seventh in perhaps the most challenging Big Ten women's field of all time two weeks ago, the No. 28 Penn State women will once again have their hands full, running in another deep and talented field, which includes four nationally ranked programs. No. 4 Princeton enters the meet as the favorite for the team championship, after cruising to victory at the Heptagonal Championships, and shocking a stacked field with a win at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational (Oct. 13). Also coming off a big conference victory are the No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers, who captured the team crown at the Big East Championships. No. 20 Georgetown will also be in the mix after finishing third at the Big East meet. The Nittany Lions, which have been a consistent fixture in the national rankings throughout the fall, will also look to finish amongst the top tier of the region, in hopes of earning their first NCAA team since 2003.
Sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) will head the Lion charge, coming off an All-Big Ten finish at the conference championships. Franek notched an impressive sixth-place standing in a tremendous field - the highest conference finish of her career, and the highest finish by a Lion since the 2003 season. Also running strong for the Nittany Lions, has been sophomore Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas), who finished 28th overall at the Big Ten Championships - up 13 spots from her 2006 finish. The Lions have also been bolstered by outstanding races from redshirt-freshman Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.), and juniors Claire Berryman (Morgantown, W.Va.), and Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario), all of whom have been key components of the Lion top five all season.
Men's Preview:
The men's race will likely be a battle between No. 14 Georgetown, the Big East runner up, and No. 28, and Ivy League winner Princeton, with Villanova also competing for a slot at the NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions, who are ranked sixth in the region, have showed consistent improvement throughout the season and will look for a top five finish. Throughout the season, the Lions have posted some outstanding performances, including a third-place finishes at both the Iona Meet of Champions and the Penn State National Invitational.
The Lions have relied on solid pack running all fall, having finished every meet this season with a gap of 35-seconds or less between first and fifth runners. Leading the Penn State effort at the Big Ten Championships was junior Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.), who finished 41st overall. Also heading up the Lion pack throughout the season has been junior Brian Fuller (Camp Hill, Pa.), a Big Ten Runner of the Week honoree during the season, as well as the individual champion at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational. Rookie Lucas Zarzeczny (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has also made a huge impact in the Lion results this season, finishing as Penn State's number-one at Iona Meet of Champions and Penn State National Invitational. John Mahoney (Richboro, Pa.) and Dennis O'Connor (Philadelphia, Pa.) have also had solid seasons, and will look for big performances this weekend.
:: Nittany Lion Notes ::
At the Big Ten Championships :: Big Ten Recap
Sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) captured first team all-conference honors with a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships on Sunday, October 28, at the Ohio State Golf Course. Franek's effort helped the 26th-ranked Nitttany Lion women to a seventh-place finish in arguably the most challenging field in conference history, which included seven teams ranked among the nation's top 30. The Nittany Lion men also faced some outstanding competition, finishing ninth in the team standings. Franek held her own in an elite field, which featured nearly 20 All-Americans, finishing the 6,000-meter course in 20:16.99 - almost 30 seconds faster than her previous 6K best, and more than ten spots better than her conference finish as a freshman. Franek ran an outstanding race throughout, and ended with a gutsy finishing kick, out-sprinting Michigan's Nicole Edwards - a multiple-time All-American and Big Ten Champion.
At the Penn State National Invitational :: National Recap
In undoubtedly its toughest competition of the season thus far, the 30th-ranked Nittany Lion women's cross country team, posted a second-place finish among an elite 25-team field at the Penn State National Invitational, on a cool and windy Friday morning (Oct. 12) at the Blue and White Golf Courses. The Penn State men also had a solid showing, finishing third out of 20 teams. Sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) was the Lions' top finisher on the women's side with a sixth-place effort, while freshman Lucas Zarzeczny (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the men's team with a 12th-place standing.
At the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational :: Spiked Shoe Recap
The 29th-ranked Nittany Lion women's cross country team won its second team title in as many weeks, capturing top honors at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, Saturday at Penn State Blue/White Golf Course. Sophomore Bridget Franek led the Lion women with an individual win, while junior Brian Fuller cruised to victory on the men's side, helping the Lions to a second-place finish. Fuller notched his second win of the season, as well as the second of his career, with a time of 23:39 for 5.2 miles. Franek clocked 21:02 to break the tape on the 6,000-meter course - the second-fastest time ever run at the Spiked Shoe event. Fuller is the 10th Nittany Lion to win the individual men's title in the 29-year history of the Spiked Shoe. Freshman Lucas Zarzeczny took second overall with a furious finishing kick, running 26:48.
Second Sweep :: Nittany Lion cross country standouts Bridget Franek and Lucas Zarzeczny were named Big Ten Runners of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 25, the second citation of the season for Franek, and the first-career honor for Zarzeczny. It is also the second time this fall that the Nittany Lions have swept the conference's weekly awards.
At the Iona Meet of Champions :: Iona Recap
The Nittany Lion women's cross country team posted a first-place finish, while the men's team managed a third-place effort at the John "Paddy" Doyle Meet of Champions, hosted by Iona College at Van Cortlandt Park. Leading the way for the Lions were sophomore Bridget Franek and freshman Lucas Zarzeczny. Franek finished the 6000-meter course in 21:51.0, good for fifth overall and third in the team scoring. Turning in an outstanding effort was redshirt-freshman Leah Rosenfeld, who ran 22:17.6 in her first collegiate 6K, to finish ninth. Zarzeczny ran a sensational race in his first-career 8000-meters to place eighth overall with a time of 25:35.2. Tyler McCandless and Dennis O'Connor ran two-three for the Lions, finishing in 17th, and 19th, in 25:58.2, 26:00.2, respectively.
Athlete Accolades :: Both Bridget Franek and Brian Fuller were named Big Ten Runners of the Week following their outstanding performances at the Lock Haven Dolan Duals on August 31. Franek would also be named Penn State Female Athlete of the Week for her efforts.
Captains Named :: After a team vote, senior Teddy Quinn, and juniors Tyler McCandless and Brian Fuller were declared captains for the Nittany Lion men's team, while senior Sonja Hinish will captain the women's squad.
At the Lock Haven Dolan Duals :: Lock Haven Recap
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 finished within 12 seconds of one another in the 2-3-4 slots. Junior Kathryn Fitzgerald 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 and Dennis O'Connor 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:
After the regional championships, the Nittany Lions will head to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 19.