CROSS COUNTRY STARTS OFF HOT IN SEASON OPENER

The Penn State Scranton Men's and Women's Cross Country teams took to the trails at home on Friday to kick off the 2013 season with their inaugural Nittany Lion Open. The women took to the trails as runners from all competing teams bunched together at the start. Facing high temperatures the PSWS Lady Lions pushed through finishing with four runners in the top ten. Freshman Kim Gaik led the team finishing third with a time of 20:15, followed closely by sophomore Marissa Rinaldi in fourth with a time of 20:42. Freshman Angela Altier finished sixth and sophomore Kerry Wittich finished eighth with times of 21:11 and 21:46, repectively, rounding out the top finishers for the ladies from Penn State Scranton.

Following the conclusion of the women's race the men took to the course hoping to start their season off with a win. The high temperatures hung around for the mens race as they fought through the heat to finish strong. The top finisher overall for the men, a first for the Lions of Penn State Scranton since 2008, was freshman John Ciccone with a winning time of 22:33. He was followed by junior Chas Bryant in fifth with a time of 25:21, freshmen Drew Evans in sixth, and freshman Jameson Rainey in seventh. Rounding out the top ten were sophomores Jamie Dodgson in eighth and Kade Kolheffer in tenth. With former standout runner Diana Kloss as his assistant this year Coach Edstrom has a good outlook for the 2013 season. The Nittany Lions will hit the trails next on Friday as they compete in the Army Open in West Point, New York.

For race results from the Nittany Lion Open click here: RESULTS

For more about our player of the week John Ciccone click here: POTW