UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 25, 2005 -The men¡¯s cross country team will compete in the Big Ten Championships on October 30 at the Les Bolstad golf course in Falcon Heights, Minn. The event will be hosted by the University of Minnesota.

¡°The Big Ten is the toughest cross country conference in the country,¡± said head coach Harry Groves, adding that six of the top 25 teams in the nation are Big Ten schools. ¡°We¡¯re going to try to make an indentation (in those rankings).¡±

The team finished 10th out of 37 schools at the Penn State National Invitational last week, competing against some of the best teams in the country.

The team will change their training regimen slightly leading up to the Big Tens, running lower mileage at higher speeds. This will rest runners who have been accumulating hundreds of miles over the course of the season, as well as increasing overall speed. Junior Dan Mazzocco, coming off an impressive showing at the national meet, will look to lead the Lions once again.

The team to beat is second-ranked Wisconsin, which held the number one spot until October 18. The Badgers have one the last six Big Ten titles.

Results will be posted Sunday afternoon on the Big Ten website (www.bigten.org) as well as the University of Minnesota athletics website (www.gophersports.com), with an update on GoPSUsports.com to follow.