UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State cross country teams are beginning their postseason this week, traveling to East Lansing, Michigan to compete at the Big Ten Championships hosted by Michigan State on Friday morning.
The men’s team will run at 10:35 a.m. in their 8k championship race while the No. 12 ranked women’s team will run shortly after at 11:35 a.m.
THE BIG TEN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
In year two of the new-look Big Ten, Penn State is looking to improve upon their finishes from a season ago. The No. 12 women’s team is coming off a fourth place finish the last two seasons in the 6k championship race. First Team All-Big Ten runner Florence Caron led the way, finishing in fifth, and will look to improve upon that this season. Hayley Kitching recorded a PR to finish second for the Nittany Lions (22nd overall) while Maddie Ullom finished 30th overall to finish top three for PSU. Oregon took the team title while Washington finished second.
In 2024, the men finished eighth with Brian DiCola finishing in 20th, good for Second Team All-Big Ten. Nick Sloff came next in 49th place while Jake Allen finished in 58th to round out the top three for the Nittany Lions. Wisconsin claimed the Big Ten Team title with Washington and Oregon finishing second and third, respectively.
This is season, Oregon enters the Big Ten championships as the highest ranked team in both races. On the men’s side Oregon No. 10, followed by the hosts Michigan State at 13th nationally and Wisconsin at No. 15. On the women’s side, Oregon is fourth nationally followed by No. 8 Northwestern and then the No. 12 Nittany Lions.
PENN STATE OUTLOOK
The women’s cross country team currently is ranked 12th nationally and third in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the most recent USTFCCCA coaches’ poll. The men’s team currently sits third in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Neither team has competed in two weeks, when the women ran at the Nuttycombe Invitational and the men at the Princeton Fall classic.
The women’s team is coming off a program-best finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational, finishing in seventh place out of 30 teams. Florence Caron led the way for PSU, finishing 15th overall with a time of 20:07.3 and she was followed by Charlotte Costich (41st, 20:32.4) and Ada Rand (44th, 20:33.1). The Nittany Lions finished ahead of 11 ranked teams while NC State, Notre Dame, and Iowa State were the top three finishers.
The men’s team competed at the Princeton Fall Classic and finished fourth. Nick Sloff paced PSU, finishing 18th overall with a time of 23:28.6. Brian DiCola came next at 29th overall with a time of 23:43.3. Justin Healey ran a PR (24:01.6) to finish 45th overall and third on PSU. The Nittany Lions improved upon their eighth-place finish a season ago while the hosts Princeton, Oklahoma, and Boise State finished top three.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc). Live updates on race day regarding weather, start times, and other important notes will be posted on X.