Even though the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational had tougher competition for Penn State on Saturday, the women's cross country team was still able to finish in second overall for the second consecutive meet.

The Nittany Lions finished behind only Syracuse in the team standings, followed by Maryland in third place.

"We did extremely well. We ran very well, but were still conservative," Penn State head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "We knocked off Maryland and ran tight."

The Lions were again led by freshman Bridget Franek, who finished fourth overall with the time of 21:22 -- 18 seconds behind first-place finisher Jillian Sullivan of Connecticut.

Of the top 20 finishers, four were Penn State runners. This included freshman Cheryl Spring, in the 8th position, Claire Percival in 16th place, and Janelle Young, who finished 18th overall.

The closer finishes by Penn State not only enabled them to hold off Maryland for second place in the meet, but also showed signs that the team is improving, even after only one week, when there were large gaps between runners at the Lock Haven Invitational.

"We tightened up the gaps that were at Lock Haven between second and third. We were tight from one through four," Alford-Sullivan said. "We're coming on -- we are a much better team."

Even before the results were officially announced, some team members already felt more confident about their performance than last week.

"A lot of the girls felt better than last week. Our main goal is to improve," senior captain Shannon Van Dyke said. "The opener was rough. But we liked the home course. It was good to see it."

While the home course was no doubt a familiar sight for some Penn State runners, many newcomers never ran on that particular course before. And even so, the course was a much more difficult one than the one at Lock Haven.

"The course is very different. There are a lot more hills," senior Kelly Chadwick said. "But being at home means there are a lot more fans, family, and people cheering for you."

And the Lions will have one more chance to experience home advantage, as they host the Penn State National Invitational Oct. 7. The team will have almost two weeks to prepare for the toughest meet of the season.

"We're looking forward to it. Syracuse will be back. It brings in some great competition," Alford-Sullivan said. "Baylor and Oklahoma are coming. We are looking forward to that."

Baylor will bring a team the Lions haven't seen yet all year. The Bears began the year ranked No. 13 in the official preseason women's Division I cross country poll. That was the highest preseason ranking in the program's history.

A team of that caliber should only push the Lions more as Penn State tries to show continued improvement and display more depth, things that will be necessities as the Lions meet other imposing teams.