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Walt Middleton Photography2022

Cross Country Prepares to Host NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's and women's cross country teams return home to the Penn State Golf Courses where they will host the 2022 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet on Friday, November 11.
 
The women will run a 6K race beginning at 10:30 a.m. and the men take to the course for their 10K race at 11:30 a.m. The races were originally scheduled for noon and 1 p.m., respectively, however they were moved earlier due to potential inclement weather.
 
The race returns to Happy Valley for the first time since 2018 when both Penn State squads posted top-five team finishes. Last season, the men came in fourth and the women finished fifth in the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, hosted by Lehigh.
 
Penn State is coming off a solid performance at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan on October 28. The women's squad enters the day ranked third in the Mid-Atlantic Region following their impressive sixth-place finish against a formidable field, including five nationally ranked teams, at the Big Ten meet.
 
Live results can be found on PrimeTime Timing and final results will be posted to GoPSUsports.com at the conclusion of the event.
 
Women's Field: American, Bucknell (No. 13 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Delaware (No. 13 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Duquesne, George Washington (No. 11 in Mid-Atlantic Region), No. 13 Georgetown, Howard, La Salle (No. 8 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Lafayette, Lehigh (No. 12 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Loyola (Md.), Marshall, Maryland (No. 10 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's,Navy (No. 7 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Penn (No. 6 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Penn State (No. 3 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Pittsburgh (No. 15 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Princeton (No. 5 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Rider, Robert Morris, Rutgers (No. 9 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Saint Francis, Seton Hall, St. Joseph's (Pa.), Temple, Towson, UMBC, Villanova (No. 4 in Mid-Atlantic Region), No. 29 West Virginia.
 
Men's Field: American (No. 14 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Bucknell (No. 11 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Delaware State, Duquesne, George Washington (No. 8 in Mid-Atlantic Region), RV Georgetown, Howard, La Salle (No. 6 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Lafayette, Lehigh (No. 15 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Loyola (Md.), Marshall, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Navy (No. 4 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Penn (No. 7 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Penn State (No. 12 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Pittsburgh (No. 5 in Mid-Atlantic Region), No. 17 Princeton, Rider (No. 13 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Robert Morris, Rutgers, Saint Francis, Seton Hall, St. Joseph's (Pa.) (No. 9 in Mid-Atlantic Region), Temple (No. 10 in Mid-Atlantic Region), UMBC, No. 11 Villanova.
 
PENN STATE OUTLOOK
 

  • The women's team sits at No. 3 in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the most recent TFRRS poll on October 31.
  • The men's team comes in at No. 12 in the same poll.
  • Last time out, the women's squad took sixth place at the Big Ten Championships, finishing strong in a tough field of competition that included five nationally ranked squads.
  • The men's squad showed poise at the Big Ten meet, as seven of their nine runners in the meet got their first Big Ten Cross Country Championship experience in the event and took the challenge head on.
  • Kileigh Kane led the women's squad, finishing in 20th place overall with a 6K time of 20:46.0
  • Faith DeMars (21st) crossed the line just three tenths of a second after Kane, recording a 20:46.3 in another strong effort.
  • Sophia Toti (34th, 21:07) and Madaline Ullom (35th, 21:08.2) came across as the second pair of Nittany Lions to finish, and Makenna Krebs (53rd, 21:23.8) rounded out Penn State's scorers in the Big Ten Championships.
  • The Nittany Lions boast a strong top seven and will seek to compete for a top-two spot in the Mid-Atlantic Region on Friday, which would automatically qualify the team for the NCAA Championship Meet on Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla.
  • Graduate student Brandon Hontz (39th) recorded a 24:59.1 in the 8K race for the men as the first Penn State finisher.
  • Behailu Bekele-Arcuri (47th, 25:06.1) and Brendan Colwell (64th, 25:29.8) slotted in behind Hontz, while Jonah Powell (76th, 25:43.6) and Payton Sewall (84th, 25:52.5) concluded the scorers for the Nittany Lions in the race.
  • Penn State will aim build on its gutsy performance at the Big Ten meet as the young group continues to gain experience throughout the postseason.