CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend women's cross country team finished in ninth place on Saturday at the DeSales Invitational.

Catie Bertges (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) paced the Lions with a time of 24:21 to finish in 12th place.  Katie Spade (Warren, PA/Warren) and Katie Patterson (Erie, PA/Villa Maria) ran strong races finishing in the top 100. Spade came in at 25:59 while Patterson clocked in at 26:00.  Haley Hughes (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) continued to build on her strong season.  She came in with a time of 26:03 to finishin in the top 100 as well. Carrie Chelich (Hobart, IN/Hobart) rounded out the top five for Behrend finishing in 96th place with a time of 26:14.

The race was broken into two groups with a total of 424 participants.  It was the first 6K race of the season for the Lions.

Behrend will be back in action on Saturday at the Inter-Regional Rumble in Oberlin, OH.  Start time is 11 a.m.