What do groundhogs know?

Every year people rip a groundhog out of its hole to see if there will be six more weeks of winter. Sure, there is still snow on the ground, but spring is only three weeks off, and that means baseball, spring flings and the second half of the equestrian season.

Penn State cruised Saturday at Dickinson to another win and is back into first place in its division. The team was upset in its last meet of the fall by West Virginia and finished in second place. Since then, Penn State has recovered its lead by four points, taking home 45 of the 49 possible points and beating West Virginia, the second-place finisher, by 13.

"It feels really good to get back out there," Penn State team president Lauren Dowler said. "Since it's cold out, it takes perseverance. We just had to buckle down to get better during break."

The team was in action in early December for the Tournament of Champions at Centenary College in New Jersey, taking fifth out of 28 teams, and from then on, Penn State was out to reclaim its lead.

"Other programs take breaks [in the winter] due to holidays, but we continued to ride," Dowler said. "We put in extra times during the week and found weak spots."

Freshman Jenn Betts took home the high points rider of the show after winning in open over fences and taking second place in open on the flat. Katie Troyanoski, Rachel Roland and Abby Pierotti also turned in strong performances.

The team continues its spring competition Sunday at Allegheny.

-- By Katie Graham