UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State cross country season is set to get underway on Friday, Sept. 5, at the annual Dolan Duals meet at Lock Haven.
The Dolan Duals, set to take place at the West Branch Cross Country Course in Lock Haven, Pa., begins at 6 p.m. with the women’s 4k race, followed by a 6:30 p.m. start for the men’s 6k. The results of the meet can be found after its conclusion on GoPSUSports.com.
The Penn State women’s team enters the 2025 season ranked 15th in the country and third in the Mid-Atlantic region in the USTFCCCA preseason polls, while the Nittany Lion men rank fifth in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a highly-successful 2024 campaign as the women’s team finished 15th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, its highest finish since 2012. The women also boasted three top-100 runners, its most at the national meet since that same 2012 year. Brian DiCola advanced to the NCAA Cross Country Championships on the men’s side, becoming the highest Nittany Lion finisher at the national championship meet since 2013.
The Penn State women return 2024 All-American and current graduate student Florence Caron, who raced her way to a 19th-place finish at last season’s national meet to become Penn State’s first cross country All-American since 2016. Other key returnees on the women’s squad include 2024 All-Region honorees Hayley Kitching and Claire Daniels as well as key runners Allison Dougherty and Lea Hatcher.
DiCola headlines the men’s returnees after becoming the highest Nittany Lion finisher at the national championship meet since 2013. The men also return a large majority of their key runners from a season ago including Nick Sloff, Ryan Watson, Brendan Flynn, Justin Healey and Caiden Leen.
The Nittany Lions swept both the men’s and women’s races at last season’s Dolan Duals, with Faith DeMars leading the way for the women and Nick Sloff earning the top spot for the men.
Following Friday’s season-opening Dolan Duals, the Nittany Lions will turn their attention to their lone home meet of the year, the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Friday, Sept. 12.
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