UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 7, 2006 - The Penn State Nittany Lions men¡¯s cross country team continued their season with another strong showing at the Penn State National, tying for second place. Senior Dan Mazzocco (Pittsburgh, Pa.) took the lead for the team once again, finishing second with a time of 25:39.

The overall team champion was Syracuse, with a total score of 68 points and a team average time of 26:09. Penn State found itself in a tie at 101 points with Cornell, actually edging the Big Red by a second in average time. Cortland State and Guelph rounded out the top five in team scoring.

Also scoring for the Lions were sophomore Tyler McCandless (Northampton, Pa.), who took 13th place overall in 26:11. He was followed in 14th place by junior Teddy Quinn (Rush, N.Y.), who clocked in at 26:12. Chris Nirschel (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Mike Syrnick (Philadelphia, Pa.), Dennis Pollow (Ransomville, N.Y.) and John Mahoney (Richboro, Pa.) rounded out the individual scoring.

Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan was enthusiastic about the team¡¯s success. ¡°We ran tough,¡± said Alford-Sullivan. ¡°We had some good time performances. Guys are running faster on this course than they were two weeks ago, and you want to see that.¡± Although the team has shown up strong so far this season, Alford-Sullivan would like to see them compete at a higher level. ¡°These small meets are good, but they limit you somewhat in competition,¡± said Alford-Sullivan.

There will be no shortage of this next week when the Nittany Lions travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Pre-National Invitational