On Saturday the Penn State men's cross country team ran against some of the most talented teams in the nation in the Penn State National and captured a 10th-place finish in the loaded field.
Junior Dan Mazzocco crossed the finished line first for the Nittany Lions in 26th place with a time of 25:59. Sophomore Oskar Nordenbring (26:34), senior John Iannacone (26:38), senior Chirs Nirschel (26:38) and senior Sean Kennedy (26:50) all grouped well for the Lions. Their tight finishes helped Penn State secure 10th place in the 37-team field.
Senior Ian McCann (26:58) and sophomore Michael Syrnick (27:03) pushed for the Lions securing the top-10 finish.
Eastern Michigan won the race, just ahead of American and Guelph. Providence junior Martin Fagan won the race in the second fastest time in Penn State White Course history at 24:56.
Penn State coach Harry Groves noted that the times may have been a lot faster on the course this weekend because the golf course was hosting a tournament. In response, the cross country course was shortened, forcing sprinters ro run over one of the golf course's greens.
After the race, Groves said that he thought his team could have finished five places higher in the field, however he did not think it was a bad race. Looking to the tough schedule ahead, including the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals, Groves said the team has some work left to do.
"We have to do a lot of bridge building, they should be running better. I'm not blaming the guys, they are doing more then I would ask," Groves said.
According to assistant coach Artie Gilkes, his team never looked comfortable on Saturday.
"We weren't ready to run in such big race and at such a fast pace. We have to figure out a way to get them ready," Gilkes said.
After the race Mazzocco and Nirschel spoke under a pine tree right off of the Ruby Field about the team's ability to bounce back. Both agreed that this team has what it takes to turn things around by the time the Big Ten Championships begin in Minnesota in two weeks. Both also said this team could run with anyone in the country.
"These were solid teams, ranked teams, really good schools -- we can run with them," Nirschel said.
"We can beat them," Mazzocco added.
Mazzocco expressed some disappointment with his performance at home over the weekend. But he said because of the letdown he is even more fired up for the Big Ten Championships. A fire he feels will burn in his entire team.
"We need to get ready for Big Tens and do what we believe we can do," Mazzocco said. "I believe we can be top three in the Big Ten."
