Four years ago, Beth Afford-Sullivan arrived in Happy Valley to begin her quest to turn the Penn State women's cross country team into a national contender. Since then, the squad has achieved numerous benchmarks, including sophomore Michelle Wale's individual qualification to the NCAA Championships last season.
On Saturday, at the Spiked Shoe Invitational on the Blue and White Golf Course, the team earned another milestone, and, in the process, established itself as a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses.
Against 19 other collegiate squads, the Nittany Lions earned a team total of 22 points and averaged a time of 21:53.94. The win was Afford-Sullivan's first in the history of the meet. Rounding out the top five were perennial powerhouse Bucknell with 82 points, Allegheny with 137, Dickinson with 153 and Rutgers with 159.
"I am very pleased with our result today," Alford-Sullivan said. "We had planned to win the meet as a team, and it is a very good notch to have in our belts now. Bucknell has beaten us every year before in this meet, so to stay above them was very significant for us. Also, our score of 22 was the lowest in my four years here."
In her Lions debut, freshman Tracey Brauksieck earned her first collegiate victory with a time of 21:10.91, the 11th-fastest time ever run on the course.
In addition to Brauksieck's convincing 17-second margin of victory over Julie Culley of Rutgers, five of her teammates finished in the top ten, helping to seal the win for the Lions.
Sophomore Chelsea Lenge finished third with a time of 21:51.03, followed by junior and team captain Katy Hillard in fifth, sophomore Molly Landreth in sixth, and juniors Maureen Thomas in seventh and Tara Johnson, a Boston University transfer, in eighth.
"Today was just a perfect day for us," Lenge said. "We were very excited with our performance and feel that we have so much strength and depth this year, and really can run as a group. Running together allows us to help each other pull through and really stick together. If someone is hurting, we can motivate each other."
Wale, one of those expected to lead the team prior to the meet, faded to 15th, but Alford-Sullivan remains optimistic about Wale's season.
"She had a solid summer of training, but is not quite as fit as she was a year ago," Alford-Sullivan said. "She still has plenty of time to improve though, and she did the best she could with what she had today"
For Brauksieck, though, the time is now, and the freshman looks to improve as the season progresses.
"I was a bit nervous because it was my first collegiate meet and I didn't know what to expect," Brauksieck said: "The first mile went by very fast though, and I was really happy with my result, and excited for the rest of the season."
