LOCK HAVEN, Pa.; November 11, 2006 - The Penn State Nittany Lions men¡¯s cross country team took fifth place overall today at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, with all seven runners posting strong performances.

The Lion¡¯s top runner was once again senior All-American Dan Mazzocco (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who took fourth place with a time of 30:24.1. This finish was good enough for an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship race, making this Mazzocco¡¯s fourth trip to the championships in as many years.

The next finisher for the Nittany Lions was senior leader Chris Nirschel (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who finished 21st with a time of 31:09.2, good for All-Region honors. He was followed by sophomore Tyler McCandless (Northampton, Pa.), who finished 38th in 31:44.2. Also scoring were the junior trio Teddy Quinn (Rush, N.Y.), who was 40th with a time of 31:47.8; Dennis O¡¯Connor (Philadelphia, Pa.), who finished 62nd in 32:26.8 and Mike Syrnick (Philadelphia, Pa.), who was 79th with a time of 32:46.8, as well as sophomore Dennis Pollow (Ransomville, N.Y.), who rounded out the scoring for the Lions.

¡°Both teams had phenomenal days in a very competitive region,¡± said head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, referring to the eighth-place women¡¯s team. ¡°As a team, we reached all the goals we set for ourselves, and both teams ran composed, tough races. Dan and Bridget (Franek) ran excellent races, and we¡¯re very pleased that with the all-region performances from Cheryl (Spring) and Chris. Both teams made great improvements on their regional finishes from last season, giving us a lot to look forward to in the future.¡±

The overall team champion was Georgetown, who scored a total of 66 points. American, Villanova, and Princeton, as well as the Nittany Lions, rounded out the top five. The individual champion was Samuel Chelanga of Farleigh-Dickinson, who completed the course in 30:09.6.

Mazzocco will take on the field at the NCAA Championship Meet, to be held on November 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.