UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 7, 2006 - The Penn State women¡¯s cross country team finished second overall at the Penn State National Saturday morning with 64 points. Syracuse took first with 44 points and Guelph came in third with 76.

Penn State hosted their second and last cross country meet of the season Saturday with freshmen Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) leading the way for Penn State in the women¡¯s 6K. Franek finished first in scoring and second overall with a time of 21:18, setting a new personal best in the 6K. Spring finished sixth in scoring and seventh overall with a time of 21:42.

Sophomore Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ont.) brought in big points with an impressive 14th place finish in a time of 22:17. Junior Sonja Hinish (Williamsburg, Pa.) and freshman Jessica Babcock (Irvine, Calif.) finished 22st (22:32) and 24rd (22:36), respectively. Sophomores Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.) and Janelle Young (Lemoyne, Pa.) rounded out the day in 29th (22:42) and 33rd (22:52).

¡°The team had a solid day with marked improvements from all the runners,¡± said Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. ¡°We saw another great performance from our one-two duo of Bridget [Franek] and Cheryl [Spring].¡±

Next up for the Lion women is the Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 14 in Terre Haute, Ind.