University Park, Pa. - Penn State's men's cross country team garnered a sixth place finish at the Big Ten Championships held on the campus of Illinois University. Wisconsin University repeated as team champions, while the University of Michigan finished second, Michigan State third, Indiana fourth and Ohio State fifth. The Lions were hoping for a top five finish and missed that goal by a mere five points.
Leading the way for Penn State was senior Steve Walsh (Blue Bell, Pa.), who in the last Big Ten race of his career earned All-Big Ten honors with a14th place. Walsh's time of 24:22.4 was also the fastest he has run on an 8k course. Fellow senior John McGrorey (West Chester, Pa.) continued his late season surge with a 19th place finish with a time of 24:30.8. Scott Munro (So., South Park, Pa.) and Gregg Davis (Sr., Newtown, Pa.) crossed the line in 24th and 25th place with times of 24:36.6 and 24:36.8. Junior Josh Loren rounded out the scoring for the Nittany Lions with a 47th place finish and a time of 25:07.9. Other scorers for Penn State were Ian Hahn (Sr., Lakehurst, N.J) and Vic Flemming (Sr., Patrolia, Pa.), who finished 63rd and 66th.
Freshman sensation Alan Webb of Michigan won the individual title with a time of 23:19.9. He out-sprinted Wisconsin's Matt Tegenkamp down the stretch to win the title.
The Nittany Lions will return to action on November 17 as they head to Bethlehem, Pa., to compete in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, where they will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The race begins at 11:00 a.m.
Team Scoring
1. Wisconsin University 28
2. University of Michigan 71
3. Michigan State University 94
4. Indiana University 115
5. Ohio State University 126
6. Penn State University 131
7. University of Minnesota 174
8. University of Iowa 184
9. Purdue University 199
10. University of Illinois 231
Top Ten Individuals
1. Alan Webb 23:19.9
2. Matt Tegenkamp 23:23.2
3. Josh Spiker 23:49.8
4. Isaiah Festa 23:50.9
5. Mike Wisniewski 24:03.2
6. Nick Winkel 24:11.5
7. John Kronforst 24:13.2
8. J.J. O'Rielly 24:13.6
9. Chris Toloff 24:15.4
10. Geoff Fleming 24:16.3
