Oct. 15, 2015
Friday, October 16
12 pm ET - Women's 6K
12:45 pm ET - Men's 8K
MEET HOME | LIVE RESULTS | "The National Results Wall"
MEET PREVIEW
| Nationally Ranked Teams | |
| Men | Women |
| #2 Syracuse | #1 New Mexico |
| #4 Stanford | #3 Providence |
| #5 Iona | #6 Boise State |
| #7 Virginia | #8 Iowa State |
| #8 Michigan | #10 Washington |
| #9 BYU | #11 Arkansas |
| #11 Wisconsin | #12 NC State |
| #15 Michigan State | #13 Michigan State |
| #16 Indiana | #14 Wisconsin |
| #17 NC State | #15 Syracuse |
| #19 Mississippi | #16 Penn State |
| #20 UCLA | #17 Virginia |
| #21 Oklahoma | #18 Notre Dame |
| #24 Furman | #19 North Carolina |
| #26 Iowa State | #20 West Virginia |
| #27 Princeton | #21 Vanderbilt |
| #28 Columbia | #22 BYU |
| RV Dartmouth | #23 Minnesota |
| RV Florida State | #23 William & Mary |
| RV New Mexico | #25 Princeton |
| RV Northern Arizona | RV Columbia |
| RV Providence | RV Dartmouth |
| RV Washington | RV Harvard |
| RV Illinois | RV Indiana |
| RV Eastern Kentucky | RV Northern Arizona |
| RV Tulsa | |
| RV Arizona State | |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following a strong showing at the Greater Louisville Classic, Penn State travels to Madison, Wisconsin to take part in the Wisconsin Adidas Classic Friday October 16 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.
The Meet
The women's 6K is slated for 12 p.m., while the men's 8k race is scheduled for a 12:45 p.m. start. The meet is held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, which opened in 2009 and is located adjacent to University Ridge Golf Course in Madison.
There will be quite a bit of positioning in the national rankings following this weekend as 37 ranked teams will be in attendance between the men's and women's teams headline the field at Wisconsin, including No. 1 New Mexico on the women's side, and No. 2 Syracuse on the men's side.
In the men's race, there are 17 ranked teams, and 10 teams receiving votes. For the women, No. 16 Pen State will compete amongst 20 ranked teams, and five teams receiving votes.
This will be a key opportunity for the Penn State cross country teams to earn points towards qualifying for 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Ky. Nov.21.
Last Time Out
The No. 19 Penn State women's cross country team recorded a third-place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic behind a top-10 performance by sophomore Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.)
Chikotas, would lead the Nittany Lion women to a third-place finish, ahead of No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 23 Minnesota, and Ohio State to name a few. Finishing closely behind Chikotas were Jillian Hunsberger (Pittsburgh, Pa.)(17:13.73), Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.)(17:23.33), Tessa Barrett(Waverly, Pa.)(17:34.60), and Stephanie Aldrich (West Chester, Pa.)(17:37.02) in 11th, 24th, 37th, and 42nd-place, respectively.
For the men, it was the duo of Conner Quinn (Horsham, Pa.) and Wade Endress (Altoona, Pa.) who led the way for the Nittany Lions recording 28th and 29th-place finishes recording times of 24:35.07 and 24:35.42, respectively. Quinn and Endress would be followed closely by teammates Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.)(24:45.13), who made his 2015 season debut, Ean DiSilvio (Pittsburgh, Pa.)(24:50.32), and Colin Abert (Easton, Pa.)(25:05.31) in 47th, 56th, and 75th-place to round out scoring for Penn State.
Last Time at Wisconsin Adidas Invite
This is the first time Penn State will compete in the Wisconsin Adidas Invite since October 12, 2012 when then- No.14 Nittany Lion women's cross country squad proved their position among the nation's elite, finishing eighth in the team standings. Paced by a 34th-place effort from junior Rebekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio), the Nittany Lions held their own against a sensational field, bettering a total of 13 nationally ranked programs, and finishing tops among Big Ten foes.
Simko toured the 6,000-meter course in 20:20, which was good for 34th overall. Next up was senior Brooklyne Ridder (Cincinnati, Ohio), who finished up in 20:39 for 69th overall and second for Penn State. Junior Victoria Perri (Philadelphia, Pa.) was on Ridder's heels as the Lions' number three, clocking 20:41 for 75th overall. Senior Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) also turned in a top 100 effort, placing 97th overall with a finishing time of 20:49. Freshman Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) came through with her best performance of the year thus far as the Nittany Lion's fifth and final scorer, taking 108th with a 6,000-meter PR of 20:52.
The men's squad placed 41st in the team standings, picking up wins over Mid-Atlantic Region rival La Salle, as well as Big Ten foe Nebraska. Stanford was tops in the men's race, with Iona, Oklahoma, and Texas rounding out the top four, while Arkansas and Columbia tied for fifth overall.
USTFCCCA Rankings
The Penn State cross country teams enter this weekend with the women's team ranked No. 16 in the nation. The Penn State women's cross country team is ranked second in the Mid-Atlantic region, while the men's team ranked fourth.
USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week
Tori Gerlach received USTFCCCA Division I National Athlete of the Week honors for her performance at the Spiked Shoe Invitational. Gerlach, a senior from Perskasie, Pennsylvania, made it look easy, winning the women's race by nine seconds ahead of Syracuse's Margo Malone. The victory also paced Penn State to a team title as well as move up the Regional Team Rankings (No. 4 to No. 2).
B1G Honors
Tori Gerlach and junior Ean DiSilvio have each earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors. DiSilvio recieved the honors following his performance at the Dolan Duals Sept. 4, while Gerlach received the accolades after a dominate Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 11.
Looking Ahead
The Penn State men's and women's cross country teams will return home, hosting the Penn State Open at the Blue-White Golf Course in University Park Saturday Oct. 17 starting at 10 a.m. with the men's 5.2 mile.
For more on Nittany Lion cross country, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.