EAST LANSING, Mich. — Led by a top-five finish from Rebekka Simko and four others among the top 31, the Penn State women finished third as a team at the Big Ten Championships at Michigan State on Sunday.
The men put five runners across the finish line between 24th and 39th place and were sixth as a team.
Simko covered the 6-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 27 seconds to lead the Nittany Lion women. She was followed by Tori Perry (17th, 20:46), Brooklyne Ridder (17th, 20:52), Natalie Bower (28th, 21:02) and Leigha Anderson (31st, 21:05). Also finishing were Emily Giannotti (32nd, 21:06) and Katie Rodden (34th, 21:11).
Michigan had five runners among the top 18 to take the team title with 55 points while Michigan State, led by individual winner Sara Kroll (20:13), was second with 75. The Nittany Lions had 96 points.
Robby Creese finished 24th to lead the Penn State men in 24:30 over 8K. Behind him were Matt Fischer (34th, 24:35), Tyler Jones (35th, 24:36), Nick Scarpello (37th, 24:39) and Sam Masters (39th 24:42). Also finishing were Chris Campbell (49th, 24:54) and Tyler Corkdale (53rd, 24:57).
The Nittany Lions collected 169 points, while Wisconsin had four runners among the top seven to win with 33 points and Indiana’s Zachary Mayhew won the race in 23:30.
