The Penn State men's cross-country team has come in second place, three meets in a row. Last weekend, at the Pre-National Invitational, the pace of the race and the level of competition proved challenging for the team, as it placed 23rd overall. This weekend, the team is eyeing the prize. The Nittany Lions will head to the University of Indiana Sunday to compete at Big Ten Championships at 11 a.m.

While the team's ultimate goal is victory, a more realistic plan for Penn State's growing program will be to make a mark in the competition and to put up a tough fight.

"The whole conference is very strong," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "It will be a competitive race all the way through. We look to go in and make a dent."

Penn State will compete against schools with excellent distance programs, and among them will be four teams ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 Wisconsin, the defending national champions.

After a bye week last week, the team is ready to compete at the highest level it can.

"It was a good week off from competition," Alford-Sullivan said. "This was a great opportunity for getting people recovered from weeks of racing and ready for the championships."

Junior Michael Syrnick says the week off helps the team perform better at the race.

"When there are two meets one after the other, you are just rushing to get two workouts in," he said. "With the bye week, you get rest and more time to do the workouts."

The Big Ten championships are different from what the Lions have been running all season. While the level of competition is a lot higher, the number of people competing is a lot lower. Ten teams will be entering nine runners each, totaling 90 people for the entire race.

Alford-Sullivan said her team is used to the stress and nervousness that competition brings about.

"They're very well prepared to manage themselves and compete to best of their ability," she said.

Penn State will then take a week off after the Big Ten Championships to prepare for the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 11.