West Long Branch, NJ-- The Penn State women¡¯s cross country team opened the 2001 campaign Saturday with three top ten individual finishers and a second place team effort at the Monmouth Invitational.

The Lions were barely edged out by Cornell for the team title. Penn State scored 43 points, while the Big Red of Cornell registered 40 points. Columbia (101), Iona (124), and Manhattan (205) rounded out the top five.

Individually, an infusion of youth helped pace Penn State, as the Lions¡¯ top two finishers were freshmen. Michelle Wale (Pine Bush, NY) took second overall with a time of 18:26.1, just five seconds off the winning pace, while Chelsea Lenge (West Hartford, Conn.) finished seventh with a time of 19:04.5. Senior Kris Phillips finished just behind her teammate in eight place, registering a time of 19:06.4. Next across the line for the Nittany Lions was Maureen Thomas (So., Bethlehem, Pa.), who finished 11th with a time of 19:16.8. A trio of Penn Staters crossed the line together as Kim DeNovellis (Sr., Clarion, Pa.), Jess Riden (So., Reedsville, Pa.), and Molly Landreth (Fr., Newburyport, Mass.) finished 16th through 18th. The Penn State women¡¯s cross country team will be back in action next Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the University of Minnesota Invitational.