College is about gaining experience, growing, and adjusting to new circumstances.

Sophomore Dan Mazzocco of the Penn State men's cross country team is a testament to that, and it's because he knew how to prepare this time around.

He was the lone Nittany Lion to go to the NCAA Championships ... again. For the second consecutive year he made the trip as the lone Penn State entrant, traveling with team coach Harry Groves. For the second year in a row he finished in the top 80 after fading from the front.

But one thing was different.

He didn't panic.

Never exposed to competition at that level prior to last year's race, Mazzocco was a bit lost. He was a runner accustomed to having several athletes compete for the win, not a pack of entrants bounding toward the finish.

So this year, he knew the situation. Among the race's top 25 at the first mile-marker, Mazzocco slowly relinquished position, but he was ready for that this year.

He finished the race in 78th place with a time of 32:24.1. Wisconsin's Simon Bairu won the race 30:37.7 and Colorado won the men's team title.

It was a situation familiar to Mazzocco, but with different results.

"Last year, I went out hard and panicked," Mazzocco said.

This year was different: he kept his composure and ran his race.

"I wasn't happy with the result, but I prepared myself perfectly," he said.

The result was a 78th-place finish, compared to last year's 80th.

The conditions were different from last year's race, however. The muddied course impacted the final stretch of the race.

"I couldn't use my finishing kick -- I just couldn't get the kick going like I normally would because it was too muddy," Mazzocco said.

This year, like last, he came out a little too fast and couldn't keep stride with the best runners the nation because he did not react as well as he would've liked.

"I was mentally prepared," Mazzocco said, "but not necessarily physically."

There's something greater for Penn State's top distance runner than the two-place difference.

"I was happier with my performance," Mazzocco said. "Last year, I let people control my race."

Mazzocco competes during the indoor track season, but said he does not know which events he will run. He said it would probably be between the mile and the 5-kilometer races.

With the first intrasquad race set for Dec. 11, Mazzocco is just enjoying the time off before he worries too much about the winter season.

"We take it as it goes," he said.