Maybe it was the jet lag, or maybe it was the strong winds and soaking rain that fell throughout the race. Whatever it was, the Penn State women's cross-country team's first ever trip to the Adidas Notre Dame Invitational didn't go exactly as it had planned.

"It wasn't our best day," Penn State women's cross country coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "We were mediocre."

While Alford-Sullivan added that the team didn't run up to their expectations, she was happy that they had the talent and depth to score enough points to finish third overall.

"It was a B, B-minus day for us," she said.

Junior Molly Landreth had another spectacular performance, finishing as the top Nittany Lion runner for the third straight meet. Landreth's time of 17 minutes 38 seconds earned her a fourth overall finish. The team's third place finish came in a field of 20 teams -- four of whom were ranked in the top 25.

Also contributing were senior co-captains Maureen Thomas and Katy Hillard. Thomas finished 26th overall with a time of 18:07, and Hillard's time of 18:09 earned her a 29th place finish.

Sophomore Jenny Stevens and junior Chelsea Lenge rounded out the scoring for the Lions, finishing 37th and 39th, respectively.

Alford-Sullivan said she was especially impressed with the performances turned in by Hillard, Stevens, and Lauren Clark.

"They've been giving us great performances week in and week out," she said.

For the second straight week, Alford-Sullivan sent a separate group of runners to a different meet.

Saturday, the "B-team" competed at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University.

Junior Michelle Wale, who placed 33rd overall, led the Lions.

Alford-Sullivan said that the meet gave the team a chance to face some competitive schools.

At the same time, the squad got a look at some of the teams who will be competing against them at the NCAA Regional Championships coming up in November.