Led by two top-20 finishes by freshmen, the Penn State women's cross country team finished in eighth place at the NCAA Mid Atlantic Regional this past Saturday in Lock Haven, the last team race this season.

Despite the presence of only two top-25 teams, Penn State was just 19 points shy of finishing in fifth place and just one point behind Penn. Not surprisingly, the top two finishers at the meet were No. 20 Princeton and No. 15 Georgetown coming in at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Those two teams received automatic berths to the NCAA Championships.

"It went extremely well. We raced and competed well," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "The top five to top seven ran their best times. We had All-Region and National qualifying results."

As has been the case for the entire season, freshman Bridget Franek posted the top time for the Nittany Lions, setting a personal best of 20:43, good enough for fifth place. That finish means Franek will be Penn State's lone representative at the NCAA Championships, to be held on Nov. 20 in Terra Haute, Ind.

"I have pure excitement," Alford-Sullivan said about Franek. "We believed it all along and set the season up for that. It's a big step."

Cheryl Spring was another freshman who performed brilliantly, finishing 18th overall, a time that gives her All-Region honors. Junior Sonja Hinish finished in a respectable 45th place.

The NCAA Regionals at Lock Haven mark a fitting end for the Lions this season. Interestingly enough, both the first and last team races of the year were held at Lock Haven. This time, the season literally came full-circle.

Though the year just ended this weekend, one cannot help but look at all the promise Penn State has. Eight of the runners at the NCAA Regionals will be back next season.

"We have a lot back and being more seasoned emotionally, [we are] well off. We're ready to take off," Alford-Sullivan said.