The Penn men’s and women’s cross country seasons came to an end Friday at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, with a number of strong performances from underclassmen giving the team optimism for the future.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at Lehigh’s Paul Short Invitational on Friday. Out of 33 teams, the men finished in first, while the women finished 16th out of 40 schools.

Senior George Dickson III may never benefit from the vast improvement Penn hopes Steve Dolan will bring to the program, but the runner has still helped mentor freshmen and impressed coaches with his leadership.

Senior Leslie Kovach finished second for the women while the men’s team had strong performances from its freshmen.

Beauregard-Breton’s cross-country career did not start until two years ago, when she was recruited to run for the Deerfield Academy, a prestigious Massachusetts preparatory school.

Running through mud, sleet, rain and snow, Penn men’s and women’s cross country each placed last in the all-Ivy Heptagonal Championships, a disappointing finish as they gear up for the NCAA East Regional competition in two weeks.

Breaking tradition is not common for the ‘Ancient’ Eight. But for only the third time in 72 years, the Ivy League Cross Country Heptagonal Championships will be held at a location other than Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

While Kovach thrives on her “one day at a time” approach, she and Boldon hope to eventually help her train, and perhaps qualify, for the 2012 Olympic Trials.