Colleen Glyde raced off to her Penn State running career with an eighth place finish in her first meet.

Since that time, she has proven to be a valuable asset to the team.

Tomorrow, the freshman will have a chance to strut her stuff against some of the best talent in the nation in the Big Ten Championships at Illinois.

"It's kind of an honor," Glyde said. "Last year when I was in high school I never would have imagined I'd be running in the Big Ten Championships. It's a surprise, a good surprise."

Glyde has earned the honor with stellar performances in meets, including leading the team to a second place finish in the Paul Short Invitational behind No. 1 Villanova.

"What more could you ask for a freshman to do?," Coach Teri Jordan asked. "Absolutely nothing. She's a key factor in our success."

This weekend though, Glyde and the team have an extremely difficult challenge to conquer.

"It's gonna be our hardest meet yet," runner Jenny Weaver said. "It's really going to test us."

Five teams from the Big Ten, including No. 6 Penn State, are ranked in the top 25 of the nation. No. 3 Wisconsin, may be the most talented team there, but it is not the only one the Lady Lions have to watch out for.

No. 7 Michigan has already beaten the Lady Lions once and No. 24 Iowa could also be a very capable opponent.

"We're definitely out to get Michigan and Wisconsin, but you can't really rule them (Iowa) out either," Kelli Hunt said.

Jordan said that Iowa's team has been having problems with injuries to its top five runners, but that a healthy team could pose a threat to any team.

"I think Iowa could win just as easily as Wisconsin if all five finish," Jordan said.

The Lady Lions have a chance to be the first Penn State cross country team to win a Big Ten championship. But if things don't pan out, there won't be any shame.

"If we finished fourth in the Big Ten, we'd still be in good company," Jordan said.