BETHLEHEM -- Whether it was for support or for celebration, Jenny Weaver wearily hugged the tired bodies of Candida McCarthy and Kelli Hunt close to her.

By 12:33 p.m. at yesterday's NCAA Championships held at Lehigh University, Weaver's Penn State cross country career ended with a lifetime best of 17 minutes, 30 seconds.

Another runner's valiant career also ended, but Mary Hohnka's effort in the race would not earn her the respect and recognition which was wrongfully stolen from her by a physically and mentally painful back injury.

But the one remedy that both runners would find solace in is that both contributed to the Lady Lions second consecutive top 10 finish.

"Mary was a little disappointed but helping the team finish seventh in the nation was good for her," Jordan said.

Weaver said she felt that things were just getting good now that she's graduating and wishes she could start over again.

"But I am also very happy with the fact that my season ended strongly after a shaky start," she said.

As their season ended the rest of the Lady Lions will ride on Weaver's strong finish and not look back at any what ifs. In a race where the heart and desire were there, the women could not improve upon their sixth-place tie in last year's championships.

"I wanted to do better but I gave it everything I had and everybody tried as hard as they could," Hunt said.

And Jordan wants her team to be proud instead of disappointed.

"We knew we could have ran better but we have had a consistent season," Jordan said. "And I think there's about 247 teams across the nation that would like to be seventh in the nation right now."

For Penn State -- Hunt, Weaver, McCarthy, Kim Kelly and Jamie Rutkowski finished one through five respectfully.

Carole Zajac of Villanova finished first and her team also edged Arkansas for the crown.