Women's Cross Country Looks to Carry Momentum into Spiked Shoe Invitational

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's cross country team is set to compete against numerous nationally-ranked teams Friday at Penn State's Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational. The 6k race is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Blue-White Golf Course.

Bucknell will be joined in the seven-team field by Syracuse, West Virginia, Penn State, Lock Haven, Lebanon Valley and Grove City. Syracuse is ranked 17th and Penn State is listed 23^rd in the season's first national poll.. The Bison, who defeated the Orange in the season-opening Harry Lang Invitational, are ranked seventh in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

The Bison return to compete at Penn State's event after a one-year hiatus. They finished second in a five-team field in 2013. Current juniors Kate Scott and Sarah Chandler contributed to the solid finish, taking 10^th and 12^th, respectively.

“We are excited to go back to the Spiked Shoe Invitational after not attending last year,” said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner. “There will be a couple of nationally-ranked teams in attendance, so we will definitely have our work cut out for us. After four weeks of practice, this meet will definitely give us a good indication of who will be in our top seven, but obviously there are still a lot of weeks to go before the Patriot League Championships.”

Scott was named the Patriot League Female Runner of the Week after leading Bucknell to the team title at Colgate's Harry Lang Invitational last weekend. She finished third out of 111 runners to top a strong field that included Albany and the nationally-ranked Syracuse team. Deanna Godby, Chandler and Christine O'Kane crossed the line one after another in ninth through 11^th.

Following the race at Penn State, the Bison will have a weekend off before competing at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 26.