The Penn State women's cross country team will compete in the Mid-Atlantic NCAA Regionals at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Lehigh University.

This race will mark the end of a journey filled with ups and downs for the Nittany Lions.

The Lions will take eight runners -- seven competitors and one alternate -- to the meet where they will compete against 30 Division I schools. While no Big Ten teams will be present, the favorites to beat will be Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, and Villanova.

One member of team will face more of a challenge as she races on Sat. Senior Tracey Brauksieck was recently in a car accident in which she broke her wrist. She was riding her bike when a car turned into her and hit her.

Penn State women's cross country coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said Brauksieck is doing well and will be running with a cast on her arm.

The Lions have continued their vigorous training schedule, and are prepared for a strong finish this weekend. The team ran on the same course earlier this year at the Paul Short Invitational so they will have an advantage going into this meet. The course is mostly flat, but has a few rolling hills.

"I really like it, it was a great course to run a championship on," sophomore Sonja Hinish said.

The ladies are looking forward to this weekend with excitement and anticipation. Hinish said that the Big Ten meet helped prepare the team for Regionals.

"We've seen the other teams and we feel stronger," Hinish said.