The Kent State men's and women's cross country teams travel to State College, Pa. tomorrow (Oct. 16) to take part in the Penn State Nationals, their final tune-up for the Mid-American Conference Championships Oct. 31. The field consists of 26 men's and 29 women's teams and are headlined by 10th-ranked Georgetown on the men's side and third-ranked West Virginia on the women's side.

The meet will also featured numerous regionally-ranked teams and some of the best area teams in NCAA Division II.

The following is a list of every team competing with their regional and national ranking:

Men (USTFCCCA Ranking; Region, Rank)
Akron
Binghamton (Northeast, No. 9)
Bucknell (Mid-Atlantic, No. 10)
Cornell (Northeast, No. 7)
Cortland State (D-III, No. 2)
Duquesne (Mid-Atlantic, No. 11)
East Carolina
East Stroudsburg
George Mason
George Washington
Georgetown (USTFCCCA No. 10; Mid-Atlantic, No. 1)
Georgia State
Indiana (Pa.)
Kent State (Great Lakes, No. 10)
Kentucky (Southeast, No. 8)
La Salle (Mid-Atlantic, No. 5)
Lehigh
Lock Haven (D-II, No. 17)
Marist (Northeast, No. 12)
Mount St. Mary's
Penn State (Mid-Atlantic, No. 7)
Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic, No. 9)
Rider
Slippery Rock
St. Francis (Pa.)
Yale (Northeast, No. 10)

Women (USTFCCCA Ranking; Region, Rank)
Boston College (ORV; Northeast, No. 3)
Bucknell (Mid-Atlantic, No. 9)
Connecticut (Northeast; No. 10)
Cornell (Northeast; No. 6)
Cortland State (D-III, No. 35)
Duquesne (Mid-Atlantic, No. 11)
East Carolina
East Stroudsburg
George Washington (Mid-Atlantic, No. 12)
Georgia State
Indiana (Pa.)
Kent State (Great Lakes, No. 14)
Kentucky (Southeast, No. 6)
La Salle (Mid-Atlantic, No. 10)
Lehigh (Mid-Atlantic, No. 15)
Lock Haven
Michigan (USTFCCCA No. 23; Great Lakes, No. 1)
Mount St. Mary's
Penn State (USTFCCCA No. 16; Mid-Atlantic, No. 4)
Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic, No. 6)
Providence (USTFCCCA No. 25; Northeast, No. 2)
Rider
Shippensburg (D-II, No. 6)
Slippery Rock (D-II, No. 18)
St. Francis (Pa.)
Stony Brook (ORV; Northeast, No. 4)
VCU
West Virginia (USTFCCCA No. 3; Mid-Atlantic, No. 2)
Yale

ORV - Others Receiving Votes in National Poll.


MAC Loves the Flashes

A total of four student-athletes have been named Mid-American Conference runners of the week so far in 2009.

After the Kent State men dominated the field at the Tommy Evans Invite (Sept. 5), senior Aiman Scullion earned the first men's cross country runner of the week award. Scullion finished first in a time of 20:18.1.

Two weeks later at the Iona Meet of Champions, Kent State swept the awards when juniors Alexandra Lizarribar and Scott Hilditch finished second and third in their respective races. The men's team finished second, knocking off fourth-ranked Wisconsin and seventh-ranked Iona.

On Saturday (Sept. 26), the Kent State men captured its third title in as many races at the rain-soaked Ohio Invitational, the sight of the 2009 championships. Junior John Minen captured the championship in a time of 25:31.53.

Movin On Up

Ranked 12th in the initial men's cross country Great Lakes Region Poll, Kent State has moved up to 10th (and as high as ninth). The women, who were not ranked to begin the season, have moved up to 14th in the Great Lakes Region poll.


Next Up

The Kent State men's and women's teams travel to Athens, Ohio for the 2009 MAC Championships, hosted by Ohio. The men will be seeking their first conference title while the women will be seeking their second. It will be the first conference title awarded in the 2009-2010 season.