Against all odds.

The Penn State men's cross-country team enters the Big Ten Championships at the University of Illinois on Sunday knowing they will be running against the best the Big Ten has to offer.

The 8,000 meter race will feature four top 25 teams including No. 4 Wisconsin, the two-time defending champion.

In fact, since 1985 no team other than Wisconsin or No.12 Michigan has won the overall team title. The Lions have had some recent success, though, in this meet finishing third last year tying their best finish ever.

"The Big Ten is different from any other race. Everyone is so good and equal," sophomore Scott Munro.

"You try and beat as many people as possible, it gets into a team battle. You run as a group and pack up together to beat everyone possible you can beat. We missed second by one point last year so every runner counts."

The Lions will see their fair share of top runners in the country on Sunday.

Some of the favorites to win the individual title in the Big Ten are Wisconsin freshman Matt Tegenkamp, Michigan senior Mark Pilja, Michigan freshman Alan Webb, and Minnesota junior Will McComb.

Senior Steve Walsh has run at the Big Ten championships numerous times and knows how to handle this race.

"I think if you go into the race worrying about people you got a problem," Walsh said. "The Big Ten is known for studs and they will be there, you got to go out and bang heads with everyone out there."

Consistency is as big a factor as any in cross-country and it is something the Lions have lacked this year.

Case in point: two weeks ago at home in the National Invitational the Lions saw their No. 1 runner, Walsh finish seventh for the Lions and 29th overall.

The week before in the Paul Short Invitational, Walsh finished third overall and led the Lions to a first place finish and their best time spread of the season. The team is confident Walsh will rebound from his performance two weeks ago, but the Lions will also need their three through five runners to step up.

"We need (Gregg) Davis and (John) McGrorey to run closer to Steve (Walsh) and Munro," Penn State men's cross country coach Harry Groves said. "We have to bunch up real close and it's a tough meet to do it in."

The Lions most consistent runner all year has been Munro, who has finished either first or second for the Lions in every meet he has run. The success of Munro and Walsh will probably dictate the way the Lions finish. Walsh did have some success in last year's race finishing 23rd with a time of 24:59.

Not to be overlooked is the senior duo of Gregg Davis and John McGrorey the pair has made the top four for the Lions in every race this season.

"I think our front four are really, really strong we just need to run up there like we are capable of," Munro said. "Our fifth man just needs to run as hard as he can and I think with a smaller field that should help us."

The Lions whole team is going to need to be strong to be successful at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday.