UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Teams from across the region are set to travel to Happy Valley for the 2018 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Blue-White Golf Course. Action gets underway with the women's 6k at noon followed by the men's 10k at 1 p.m.
TEAMS COMPETING (Both genders unless noted)
American, Bucknell, Delaware (w), Duquesne, George Washington, Georgetown, La Salle, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola (Md.), Marshall, Maryland (w), Maryland-Eastern Shore, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, New Jersey Institute, Penn, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rider, Rutgers, Saint Francis University, Seton Hall, St. Joseph's (Pa.), Temple, Towson (w), UMBC, Villanova, and West Virginia (w).
MEET INFO
All spectators need to park in the Nittany Deck near the Nittany Lion Inn for $1/hr rate, parking is limited in this area. In addition to the Nittany Deck, the commuter lots are also available for spectators.
Fans are asked not to bring animals and drones to the Blue-White Golf Course.
MOVIN' ON
The top two teams from each of the nine regional meets will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships (Nov. 17), while the rest of the teams competing will need an at-large berth to qualify.
Individually, 36 runners will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships if they are the top four individual finishers that placed in the top-25 at their respective regional meet and are not on an NCAA-qualifying team. Two runners from each region will also receive an at-large bid, but they must also finish in the top-25 at their respective regional meet.
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions last competed at the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 28. As a team, the Nittany Lion women finished fourth (103), while the Nittany Lion men placed ninth (212).
Individually for Penn State, Colin Abert (23:56.9) and Julia Paternain (20:22.9) both ran to 10th-place in their respective races.
Following the meet, Abert, Paternain and Danae Rivers were named Second Team All-Big Ten.
LAST YEAR AT THE NCAA REGIONAL MEET
At the 2017 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet, the Penn State women won their third straight regional title with a score of 31 points, while the Nittany Lion men took fifth with a score of 131 points.
The Penn State women had five runners finish in the top 10 and were led by a runner-up finish from Jillian Hunsberger (20:05.4).
On the men's side, Timothy McGowan finished sixth (30:40.1) and Colin Abert placed ninth (30:43.5).
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
The Nittany Lions have combined for four athlete of the week honors. On the year, Colin Abert has been named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week twice (Sept. 5 & 12) and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete of the Week once (Sept. 10). Along with Abert, Julia Paternain was tabbed the Big Ten Athlete of the Week (Sept. 12).
IN THE RANKINGS
Nationally, the Penn State women check in at No. 13. Regionally, the three-time defending Mid-Atlantic Champion Penn State women are No. 2, while the men's team is No. 5.
UP NEXT
The 2018 NCAA Championships are held at the Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Nov. 17. The meet begins with the women's 6k at 11:45 a.m. (EST) followed by the men's 10k at 12:45 p.m. (EST).