Development from year to year is crucial to success in cross country, and this year the Penn State men's team has a chance to develop into something very special.

Head coach Harry Groves has some depth returning this season from a team that finished 12-4 and placed ninth at the Big Ten Championships last year. The key, he said, is turning depth into quality depth.

That quality will start with senior Dan Mazzocco who ran his way into the NCAA Championships last season and earned All-Regional honors for the second time in his collegiate career.

"I want to enjoy running, stay healthy, and be seen by the team as a leader. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself; things will fall into place," Mazzocco said.

Along with Mazzocco, the Nittany Lions will welcome back senior Matt Lincoln, who according to Groves, put in a lot of work during the offseason. Senior Chris Nirschel also trained vigorously over the summer months, and he hopes that will translate into something positive for his team.

"I put in too many miles and too much time this summer to be mediocre," Nirschel said. "I'm going to put forth the effort to step up to that next level."

While Groves is leery of putting too much pressure on any of his freshmen, he did mention one first-year runner who may make an impact.

"That kid from Cedar Cliff has potential and may be able to make the jump," Groves said.

That kid is freshman Tim Johnson. Johnson and several other younger runners will be tested to see if they can fill some gaps made by graduation.

Even with the arrival of Johnson, the coach insisted the younger players need time to develop and that the outcome of the 2005 campaign will rest on how his older runners have progressed during their time in Happy Valley. He also said this season could be a breakout year for the 12 seniors on his roster.

"This is a sport of development," Groves said. "If they're going to hit it, this will be it."

Penn State opens its season on Sept. 17 at Lock Haven, and then the Lions run at home in the Penn State Spiked Shoe Meet on Sept. 24. But the date to circle is Oct. 15 when 22 teams from five different regions travel to Central Pennsylvania for the Penn State National.

NCAA Division I cross country is broken up into nine regions. Teams receive points for every opponent they beat in another region. More points are added if a team they defeat goes on to fare well against its own region.

In other words, it pays to compete against -- and beat -- the best.

Those points then help determine what teams are the best in the country. Two other dates stick out on the schedule for 2005: The Big Ten Championships on Oct. 30 as teams compete not just for the conference crown but for a lot of quality points, since the Big Ten is so tough and spread over three different regions. The other date is Nov. 12 at the NCAA Regionals.

A good showing at the NCAA Regionals could send several members or the entire team to the NCAA Championships. If Groves' team can continue to develop in the following weeks and months, they could be running into mid-November.

"There are lots of guys with potential. We ran at Tussey [Mountain] and everyone ran pretty well. But we won't know until we race," Nirschel said.

Mazzocco is also optimistic about the upcoming season despite doubters.

"The outsiders won't believe that, but I believe we will mesh well. ... We are the dark horse and we can prove a lot of people wrong," Mazzocco said.