UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The men’s and women’s cross country teams took on a strong field at the Penn State National Invitational today and came home with a positive performance.

In one of the finest meets in the nation, Lock Haven held their own in what head coach Aaron Russell called one of the best performances of the season to date

“We were a bit down in the field, but it was to be expected against such fierce competition” said Russell of his team.

The men’s squad continues to impress as they finished 16th overall out of a field of 20 teams. LHU was one of three Division II squads which included Slippery Rock and Bloomsburg.

The top performance of the morning for the men came from Sophomore Jed Yeatts (Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) who crossed the line in a time of 27:38, which was good enough for 71st overall.

Yeatts was closely followed by Senior harrier Shawn Moore (Elverson, Pa./Twin Valley) who came in 78th place with a time of 27:46. Rounding out the top five were Brandon Pomerantz (96th, 28:03) (Holland, Pa./Council Rock North), Nick Hilton (100th, 28:07) (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township High School) and Chris Bell (101st, 28:07) (Marysville, Pa./Susquenita).

The women’s team came home with a 24th place finish out of 25 teams. LHU was one of four Division II teams to compete.

Junior Shala Simms (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) led the Lady Eagle’s charge as she came away with a time of 23:32 which was good enough for 111th place. Simms was followed by classmate Alyssa Douma (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) who finished 150th with a time of 24:39. Rounding out the top five for the Lady Eagles were Lindsay Scheller (153rd, 24:50) (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy), Theresa Gould (161st, 25:12) (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), and Jenelle Gobel (165th, 25:22) (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial High School).

The top men’s team was LaSalle with 64 points and the top women’s team was West Virginia with 86 points.

The winner of the six kilometer women’s race was West Virginia’s Marie-Louise Asselin who crossed the line at 20:46, and the winner of the men’s 5.2 mile race was Kentucky’s Andre Silva who crossed the line in a time of 26:16.

“Overall I am very pleased with our performance today, and it’s been one of our best races so far this year for both teams” said Russell following the meet.

The Men’s and Women’s teams will both be back in action next as they headed to the PSAC Championships at Kutztown on October 27, 2007. The Bald Eagles will be looking to come away with their fifth straight PSAC Crown and the Lady Eagles will be looking to bring home their first ever PSAC championship.