St. Paul, Minnesota-- The Penn State womenĄŻs cross country team finished with 475 points and a 21st place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota on Saturday. Running against the best teams in the nation, The Nittany Lions continued their youth movement as their top three finishers were freshmen. Michelle Wale (Pine Bush, NY) led the Lions with her 38th place finish, crossing the line in a time of 21:54.3. Chelsea Lenge (West Hartford, Conn.) and Maureen Thomas (Bethlehem, Pa.) also cracked the top 100. Lenge finished in 89th place with a time of 22:28.9, while Thomas crossed the line 93rd in a time of 22:30.2. Also running strong for Penn State were Beth Sharkey (Jr., Hazleton, Pa.) and Kris Phillips (Jr., Niskayuna, NY). The duo finished in 127th and 128th places with times of 22:44.5 and 22:44.9 respectively. Overall, Arizona State took the team title with a score of 109 points, while the Friars of Providence took second place just 30 points behind. Rounding out the top five were Arizona (167 pts.), Colorado State (188), and Big Ten rival Michigan State (194). Experience proved to dominate the individual competition as seniors exclusively comprised the top five. Sabrina Monro of Washington took top honors with a time of 20:12.9. Lisa Aguilera and Kelly MacDonald, a pair of Arizona State Sun Devils, took second and third with times of 20:34.2 and 20:37.2. Tara Chaplin of Arizona finished fourth registering a time of 20:42.5, while Jennifer Owens of Virginia finished fifth with a time of 20:49.4. Next Saturday, the Lions stay in the Keystone State, as they run in the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
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