Oct. 13, 2005

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The 20th-ranked Providence College women's cross country team and the men's squad return to competition on Saturday, October 15 at the Penn State Invitational. The women's 6K race will begin at 10:00 a.m., while the men's 5.2 mile race will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Penn State University Blue-White Golf Courses.

Providence will be competing for the first time in three weeks. The Friars finished seventh at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, September 24 at Falcon Heights, Minn., as senior All-American Fiona Crombie (Christchurch, New Zealand) finished eighth overall to lead PC.

Providence has won the Penn State Invitational for the past thee years. Last season, Kim Smith (Auckland, New Zealand) won her second consecutive Penn State individual title, while Mary Cullen (Sligo, Ireland) placed second to pace the way for PC to a first-place finish out of 41 teams.

This season, there will be over 40 teams competing in the women's race, including top-ranked Duke, which finished second in 2004. Crombie will be one of 12 PC runners competing this weekend. The Friars also will have junior Meghan Owen (Danielson, Conn.) and graduate Aine Hoban (Wakefield, England) who finished second and third, respectively among PC runners at the Roy Griak Invitational.

The men's team will be making its first appearance at the Penn State Invitational. In its last race, the Providence finished 10th at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 24 in Falcon Heights, Minn. Senior Martin Fagan (Mullingar, Ireland) paced the way for the Friars with a seventh-place finish. Providence will have 10 other runners for the Penn State Invitational, including Ahmed Haji (West Hartford, Conn.) and Joe Dionne (Oshawa, Ontario) who were PC's second and third highest finishers, respectively at the Roy Griak Invitational. In addition, Max Smith (Dunedin, New Zealand) who has been battling an injury, will make his first appearance this season.

Following the Penn State Invitational, the Friars will not compete until October 28 at the BIG EAST Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y.