Harry Groves called Saturday's 22nd Annual Spiked Shoe Invitational a "proving ground."

The longtime Penn State men's cross country coach said he planned to use the kick-off meet at Penn State's Blue Course to find out what his No. 24 Nittany Lions are really made of.

After a third-place finish, Groves saw the potential in his team and preached a need for rededication from his runners.

Groves liked what he saw, but knows the team can do better.

No. 13 William & Mary won the event by 31 points over James Madison, who was not ranked. William & Mary beat the Lions by four points.

According to Groves and Penn State's top runner, Chris McGinness, preseason rankings can be deceiving.

"The thing you have to understand about Madison," said McGinness, "is that their two top guys are All-American."

Karl Savage of St. Joseph's finished first with a time of 25:30, while James Madison's Mike Fox (25:32) was second overall, followed by teammate Eric Post (25:41).

McGinness (25:58) finished seventh to lead the Lions.

Jim Carney, a graduate student from Millersville, made an immediate impact on the program.

Carney finished 10th in the race (26:02).

Senior Josh Brashears came in 17th (26:13) and Steve Walsh was 21st (26:18).

Captain Bradd DelMuto, senior Gregg Davis and freshman Scott Munroe finished in the top 50 for the Lions.

It was an impressive debut for Munroe, who was one of the top high school runners in Pennsylvania last season.

The gray, brisk morning provided perfect running weather.

The weather pushed times to lows usually not seen until later into the season, when it's cooler.

Generally hot temperatures and humidity give runners more trouble on the course.

Despite the strong showing by individuals, Groves had hoped for a more team-oriented race out of his squad.

"Today we didn't measure up as a team," he said.

"They ran the first three miles well, but after that they broke off. You have to get in the race, and stay in it.

'We didn't do that today. The other two teams did," Groves said.

"They beat us and they did it commendably.

"I was just hoping we would match them," he said.

Groves said that his team still needs a lot of work before it can get where it should be.

Runners need to improve on individual times.

And, more importantly, the team needs to learn to run as a team and maximize their shot at winning.

"We knew we had some great talent and we just wanted to pick up where we left off," McGinness said.

The Penn State team lost just one senior to graduation.

"It's going to come in steps though," McGinness said.

"We just have to keep working and improve with every run."

McGinness noted that his time Saturday was 22 seconds off his best time at the Penn State Blue Course.

However, the William & Mary runners were basically in mid-season form on the Penn State course.

"Now we're just going to concentrate on the Minnesota meet," said McGinness.

He was referring to next Saturday's Griak Invitational.

McGinness said some of the best teams in the country would be at the race.

Included in this bunch are the top Big Ten teams.

Penn State looks to improve upon its finish there last year and run better as a team.

"We got our heads handed to us there last year, so we know what to expect this year," he said.

"Cross country is such a long season.

We have a lot of 100-mile weeks ahead of us and we're only going to get better," McGinness said.