Sept. 15, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: September 15, 2009 - A driving rain and mud-cover course didn't stop Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) from taking top honors at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at the Blue-White Golf Course last Friday, and her efforts did not go unnoticed, as the Nittany Lion senior was named Big Ten Runner of the Week on Tuesday. Spring shares this week's award with Minnesota's Megan Duwell.
The honor is the first career conference citation for Spring, and the second-straight for the Nittany Lion women, as sophomore Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.) won the honor last week.
Spring ran away from the Spiked Shoe field individually, covering the 6,000-meter course in 21 minutes, 13 seconds - 11 seconds faster than the second place finisher. Spring, who also won the Spiked Shoe individual title in 2008, was impressive against a race chocked full of conference foes, including squads from Ohio State and Illinois.
As a team, the Nittany Lions claimed five of the top 13 finishing positions, winning the team title with a total score of 30 points. Ohio State followed in second with 47, while Illinois turned in a third-place finish with 54 points.
The Nittany Lions roll on this weekend, traveling to the Cappy Anderson Invitational at Maryland-Eastern Shore, on Saturday, Sept. 19. The UMES course, in Princess Anne, Md., will also be the site of the 2009 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships, set for November 14.