Penn State senior Molly Landreth was named the Big Ten Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the third time on her career yesterday by the conference office.

Landreth, a 2003 All-Big Ten and All-Region runner, picked up right where she left off in 2003 as she led Penn State to a season opening victory at the Spiked Shoe Meet Saturday at the Penn State Blue/White Golf Course.

Landreth, who led the Lions in every race last year, defended her title at the Spiked Shoe winning in a time of 21:26.50.

Penn State, which entered the season ranked No. 23, opened with a decisive victory in the home meet.

The Nittany Lions posted a team score of 23 points well ahead of second place LaSalle (78).