MADISON, Wis. – The Penn State cross country program competed at the Nuttycombe Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin Friday, Sept. 28, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. The meet featured national competition as there were 15 ranked teams in the women's race and 18 ranked teams in the men's race.
The No. 13 Nittany Lion women placed 13th overall with their team score of 319 points, while the Penn State men finished 28th with a score of 693 points.
The women's 6k saw freshman Julia Paternain (Cambridge, England) pace the Nittany Lions for the third straight meet. She finished 30th overall, and was the third freshman to cross the finish line, with her time of 20:22.7.
Along with Paternain, Alison Willingmyre (Wernersville, Pa.) and Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) recorded top-50 finishes, as Willingmyre ran 20:39.6 (45th) and Rivers clocked in at 20:44.9 (50th).
Kathryn Munks (Chester, N.Y.) and Jordan Williams (Sharon, Pa.) rounded out the scoring for the Blue and White. Munks placed 90th (21:07.7) and Williams finished 104th (21:17.0), respectively.
In the men's 8k, senior Colin Abert (Easton, Pa.) ran to a 56th-place finish with his time of 24:04.0. Alex Tomasko (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) was the second Nittany Lion to cross the finish line as he ran 24:36.1 (119th).
In addition to Abert and Tomasko, Owen Wing (State College, Pa.) ran 25:00.4 (166th), John McGowan (Northport, N.Y.) completed the race in 25:13.8 (179th) and Isaac Davis (Cogan Station, Pa.) clocked in at 25:15.3 (185th).
The Nittany Lions do not compete next week as they prep for the National Open on Oct. 12 at the Blue-White Golf Course. The meet is slated for a 10:45 a.m. start.