The first, the last, the only.
The Penn State women's cross country team hosts it's only home meet of the season, the National Invitational, at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Blue and White golf course. The Nittany Lions were scheduled to open the season at home, but the Spiked Shoe Invitational was cancelled in the wake of the tragedy that took place on Sept. 11.
The Lions are looking forward to this meet for the opportunity to finally run in front of the hometown crowd.
"We are really excited to finally get the chance to run at home," freshman Molly Landreth said. "Earlier in the year we were disappointed, when we could not run at home. But now it makes this one just that much more special."
The National Invitational will be one of the smaller meets Penn State runs at all season. No. 23 James Madison is the frontrunner in the field. Florida, St. Joseph's and William and Mary should also all be in the hunt.
James Madison's one-two punch of senior Mollie DeFrancesco and sophomore Cindy Dunham has lead the team all season. They will look to find themselves towards the front pack in tomorrow's race.
"We need the chance to learn to get out in front in a race, and run it from ahead," James Madison women's cross country coach Dave Rinker said. "In big races like the Griak and Southeastern Regional, we were always running towards the middle of the pack. It will be nice to get the opportunity to run in the front."
Florida will be another key player, in tomorrow's race. They have put together a strong season early on. The Gators have won the Disney Invitational, last week, and University of Central Florida Invitational and finished third at the Florida Intercollegiate. Senior Erin Merten is the leader of the Gators attack.
The Lions should not be counted out as they will find themselves right in the thick of things, with James Madison and Florida. After a huge win a week ago Penn State looks to continue their winning ways tomorrow.
"I' m expecting there will be a carry over," Landreth said. "Hopefully we will be able to sustain it through the weekend and into the future."
Penn State also plans to use this meet as preparation for the Big Ten Championships and Mid-Atlantic Regionals. One of the goals of the Lions tomorrow is to shorten the spread between their top seven finishers. Penn State has had a huge spread in between their top two finishers and runners three through seven. This will be a key factor in dictating the competitiveness of the Lions in the postseason meets.
"We have been working on improving our spread from runners one through seven," Penn State women's cross country coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "We will also be running a lot of girls, more than we have all season, and everyone will be competing for a spot on the traveling squad."
The Lions have not backed down from a challenge all year and tomorrow should be no different. Georgetown, Bucknell, or James Madison — it makes no difference.
