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MEET HISTORY
The Nuttycombe Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, debuted in 2009 as the second meet at the newly opened Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, following that year's UW Cross Country Classic.
Previously known as the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, the event was renamed in honor of longtime Wisconsin cross country coach Ed Nuttycombe, who earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors 22 times during his 29-year tenure with the Badgers.
The meet draws some of the nation's top women's cross-country programs, with 18 nationally ranked teams among the 30-team field in 2025.
2026 EDITION
The Penn State women will compete in the 6K "A" Race at 10:30 a.m. CT (11:30 a.m. ET).
18 nationally ranked teams, including #29 Penn State, are competing in this edition of the Nuttycombe Invitational.
The women's "A" field features Air Force, #30 Boise State, #16 Colorado, #13 Florida, Furman, Georgetown, Georgia, Gonzaga, Harvard, #5 Iowa State, Louisville, Michigan State, #21 Minnesota, #19 Missouri, Nebraska, #4 New Mexico, #3 Northern Arizona, #22 Northwestern, Oklahoma, #8 Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Princeton, #24 Providence, #11 Stanford, Tennessee, #20 Toledo, UCLA, #14 Utah, Wake Forest, #23 Washington, #17 Washington State, #9 West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Live results and livestream are available with complete results posted to GoPSUsports.com following the conclusion of competition.
2025 REWIND
In the 2025 edition of the Nuttycombe Invitational, the Penn State women finished in 7th place, led by Florence Caron who took 14th in 20:07.3.
LAST TIME OUT (Princeton Meadows Challenge)
On September 26, the women competed at the Princeton Meadows Challenge, placing 7th overall. Claire Zubey led the Nittany Lions taking 29th in 20:43.1.
NATIONALLY RANKED | REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The women’s check in 29th in the country and at 7th in the region.
FRESH FACES
The women's team welcomes seven newcomers to the roster: Ana Bondy (Carlisle, Pa.), Fancy Chepkoech (Kenya), Baylee Espinosa (Lewisburg, Pa.), Grace Fritzman (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Vivian Kipruto (Kenya), Reese Miller (Gwynedd Valley, Pa.) and Ella White (Wake Forest, N.C./UNC Charlotte).
THE RETURNERS
Women's cross country welcomes back 11 returners including graduate students Charlotte Costich (Buffalo, N.Y.), Katie Dallas (West Lawn, Pa.) and Lea Hatcher (Morgantown, W. Va.,); senior Claire Zubey (Spring City, Pa.); and sophomores Liliah Gordon (Chesterfield, N.J.), Jane Kratz (Pottstown, Pa.), Wren Kucler (Wexford, Pa.), Eva Kynaston (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Emma Brooke Levering (Homewood, Ala.), Lauren Stine (Hagerstown, Md.) and Caroline Tribett (Gainesville, Va.).
BIG TEN RUNNER TO WATCH
Graduate student Charlotte Costich was named a Big Ten Runner to Watch by the conference on Aug. 19 ahead of the 2026 season.
Costich was a scoring runner in all six meets in which she competed during the 2025 season.
She helped Penn State record four top-two team finishes, including victories at the Dolan Duals and Spiked Shoe Invitational and runner-up finishes at the Paul Short Run and Big Ten Championships.
Costich finished as the Nittany Lions' No. 2 runner in each of her final three races at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships.
She earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors after placing eighth at the conference championships, helping Penn State finish second with 78 points.
Costich capped the season by placing 93rd as Penn State's No. 2 finisher at the NCAA Championships, contributing to the Nittany Lions' 10th-place team finish.
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
During the 2025 season, the women recorded five top-three team finishes.
The women earned their national and regional rankings after finishing 10th at the 2025 NCAA Championships, marking the program's highest finish since 1994.
Florence Caron '25 earned a 14th-place finish, the highest by a Nittany Lion at the NCAA Championships in 25 years.
Caron also earned back-to-back All-America finishes in 2024 and 2025, marking the first time a Nittany Lion accomplished the feat since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
The 2025 NCAA Championships marked the third consecutive season the women qualified for the national meet, the program's first stretch of at least three consecutive appearances since 2016-19.
On the men's side, Nick Sloff finished 132nd at the NCAA Championships, marking the highest finish by a Penn State men's runner since 2013.
PUTTING THE BIG TEN ON NOTICE
The women's team earned a second-place finish at the 2025 Big Ten Championships, its best result since also finishing second in 2016.
Florence Caron's career-best fourth-place finish earned her a second consecutive First Team All-Big Ten honor.
Charlotte Costich and Ada Rand joined Caron in earning All-Big Ten honors, marking the program's most since 2020. Costich ran 20:11.7 to place eighth and earn the first All-Big Ten First Team honor of her career. Rand rounded out Penn State's top three finishers, running 20:23.3 to earn All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career.