LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – For the second year in-a-row the Penn State cross country squads swept the Lock Haven Dolan Duals with perfect scores of 15 points apiece at the West Branch Cross Country Course Friday evening. Individually, senior Colin Abert (Easton, Pa.) completed the 6-kilometer course in 17:41.13 to win the men's race, while freshman Julia Paternain (Cambridge, England) captured the title in the women's race as she finished the 4-kilometer race in 13:54.42.
"This has been our traditional season-opener for many years now," head coach John Gondak said. "We really appreciate Lock Haven for putting this meet on for us. It is a great course, a great venue. It allows us to see what type of work our team has done over the summer and over the first three weeks of practice."
Friday's meet marked the 10th straight year the Nittany Lion women won the meet with a perfect score, and the second straight year the Penn State men brought home the title with a perfect score.
"I was pleased with the results tonight," Gondak said. "I think we have two very solid programs right now and we will keep working. October is a long way away, so we have a long time from now and then to keep working on our fitness and keep getting better."
Following Abert in the men's race, Owen Wing (State College, Pa.) placed second (18:10.13), Alex Tomasko (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) took third (18:12.87), John McGowan (Northport, N.Y.) finished fourth (18:26.29), and Brady Bobbitt (Batavia, Ill.) rounded out the top-five (18:32.21).
After Paternain crossed the finish line, Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) placed second (13:58.63), Alison Willingmyre (Wernersville, Pa.) took third (14:08.76), Moira O'Shea (Greensburg, Pa.) finished fourth (14:15.02), and Kathryn Munks (Chester, N.Y.) capped off the scoring for the Nittany Lions with a fifth-place finish (14:21.50).
Next up the Nittany Lions return home to the Blue-White Golf Course on Friday, Sept. 7, to host their first of three meets this season – the annual Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational.
"We have about 12 teams coming to the Spiked Shoe this year and it should be a great competition for us," Gondak said. "Next weekend's race will be a more true distance that we'll run in cross country this year. It'll be another test for us as we prepare for October and November."