TERRE HAUTE, Ind.; October 14, 2006 - The Penn State women¡¯s cross country team finished 22nd overall with 608 points in the women¡¯s 6K white race at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational Saturday morning in Terre Haute, Ind. Freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) finished 37th among 253 runners with a time of 20:58.4, setting a new personal best. Indiana State University hosted the event with all 11 Big Ten women¡¯s cross country teams in attendance.

Freshman Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) also lead the way for Penn State, finishing 78th with a time of 21:33.5.

In addition, sophomores Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ont.) and Janelle Young (Lemoyne, Pa.) finished in 149th (22:11.5) and 176th (22:26.4), respectively. Freshman Jessica Babcock (Irvine, Calif.) took 168th in 22:22.1. Junior Sonja Hinish (Williamsburg, Pa.) finished 198th in a time of 22:41.6. Sophomore Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.) rounded out the race in 223rd in a time of 23:01.9.

North Carolina State finished first with 117 points, followed by Michigan and Wisconsin in a tie for second place with 176 points each.

Next up for the Lion women are the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, Oct. 29. in Bloomington, Ind.