State College, Pa., November 3, 2002- Penn State took fourth place at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships out of the 11 Big Ten teams with a score of 94 points Sunday in West Lafayette, Ind. Freshman standout Tracey Brauksieck (Homer, N.Y.) was first over the line for the Lions with a tenth place finish. Brauksieck¡¯s 5K time of 17:52.7 was just 27 seconds off of first place finisher Michelle Carson¡¯s (Michigan State) time of 17:24.0.

Michigan won the Big Ten title placing first with a score of 70 points, while Michigan State came in right behind with 73 points and Indiana took third with 81 points. Penn State scored 94 points and Wisconsin posted 107 points for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Penn State had four runners total (including Brauksieck) place in the top 20 out of a total of 92 competitors. Junior captain Katy Hillard (Turbotville, Pa.) came in at 13th for the Lions with a time of 18:05.3. Sophomore Molly Landreth (Newburyport, Mass.) who has been a consistent scorer for Penn State all season came in at 18th in a time of 18:10.0 and last year¡¯s NCAA qualifier sophomore Michelle Wale (Pine Bush, N.Y.) rounded out the top 20 for the Lions with her 19th place finish in a time of 18:11.2.

Other placers for the Nittany Lions included freshman Jenny Stevens (Hookset, N.H.) in a time of 18:26.5 for 34th place and junior transfer Tara Johnson (Glenolden, Pa.) placing 40th in a time of 18:30.0. Sophomore Chelsea Lenge (West Hartford, Conn.), who has also made significant contributions to the Nittany Lion scoring all season, ran an 18:33.7 for 41st place.

Rounding out the placing for Penn State was junior Maureen Thomas (Bethlehem, Pa.) with a 51st place finish in a time 18:52.7 and sophomore Kayla Matrunik (Latrobe, Pa.) running an 18:59.8 for 59th place.

Penn State is back in action November 16 for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional set to start at 11:00 a.m.