After three straight second-place finishes, the Penn State women's cross country team is setting its sights on an even tougher level of competition at the Pre-Nationals event this Saturday in Terra Haute, Ind.

"It's an opportunity for us to run against competition and with a great atmosphere. It's just outstanding," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "The best of the best. There's going to be a lot of depth."

Teams from all around the country will make the trip to Indiana this weekend, each one hoping to show it can compete at such a high level. Some teams will be rather familiar ones, as Big Ten teams will be running, too. And those conference foes will be the ones Penn State will keep its eye on throughout the meet.

"We want to do well for the Big Ten. All Big Ten teams are going to be there. We want to see where we set up and stand," sophomore Janelle Young said.

The Nittany Lions know this will be a very difficult meet to win considering the competition. This is the toughest run the team will have, at least through this point of the running season.

But instead of focusing on out of conference teams and one-time opponents, the Lions are instead putting more of their attention on their own conference and themselves as a whole.

"We want to keep the spread of runners one through five tight as we run. We just want to fight competitively. Maybe even run with some Big Ten schools and see how we compare," Alford-Sullivan said.

And this weekend should be a perfect time to get a sneak preview of future conference competition.

After all, the Big Ten Championship meet will be held October 29 in Bloomington, Ind., and it is never too early to start an early scouting report against conference rivals.

But there will obviously be more unfamiliar teams for the Lions on Saturday. And when it does come to the unfamiliar teams the Lions will run against, Penn State takes an open approach.

They're not seeing this as a problem, but rather an opportunity to prove they can run with the best out there.

"We're definitely excited. We're going to see teams we haven't seen before," sophomore Claire Percival said.

"It's challenging, but we could benefit."

The women have a great approach to this weekend. They know what they can accomplish, and are ready to prove that they belong. There is no question that this will be a tremendous challenge for Penn State. Granted, there will be some lesser teams that shouldn't be a threat to the Lions. But there will be just as many teams that are like Syracuse, an opponent that has topped the Lions twice already this season. However, races like the Pre Nationals can serve as a coming out party for a team that is as young as Penn State.

"We're going to take what we can get. We are right on the cusp," Alford-Sullivan said.

"Nothing worries me. I just have excitement for what could happen."