While many have been sporting shorts lately and heading outside to run, the women's track team will remain indoors tomorrow when it faces Georgetown and Lock Haven in the Lady Lion Classic at 11 a.m. in the Indoor Sports Complex.

Penn State will use this meet as a tune-up for the Terrier Classic in Boston next week while continuing efforts to qualify runners for the ECAC and NCAA Championships in March.

Coach Teri Jordan said she would especially like to see senior jumping captain Carmen Mann in the long jump and sophomore Jackie Brown in the 55-meter sprint qualify for the NCAAs at this meet. And, of course, she would like to win as many events as possible.

"Georgetown and Lock Haven will push us," Jordan said. She called Georgetown a "great, great team" and said that Lock Haven has a few outstanding athletes, which will create strong competition in nearly every event. In addition, Syracuse will send athletes to compete in the pentathlon only.

First-year Lock Haven coach Mark Elliston is not as confident that his team will make a strong showing. He said his team has a few tough seniors who will be individual bright spots, but that Lady Eagles lack depth and won't be very competitive as a team.

"We're not going to turn any heads," Elliston said.

Another reason Elliston thinks his team will not make much of an impact tomorrow is that Lock Haven has not returned from winter break yet, and therefore will be minus some runners, bringing no more than 10 or 12 to the meet.

"We want to see where we are and get more experience," Elliston said.

Georgetown coach Frank Gagliano views the Lady Lion Classic as "more of a great competition, workout-type meet, not a championship meet."

Though the Lady Hoyas will be getting a feel for the indoor track, Gagliano also sees the meet as an opportunity to set a couple school records in yards. Penn State's indoor track is measured in yards, not meters like most other tracks.

With only 20 women on the team, the Hoyas are not as deep as Penn State, Gagliano said. Indeed, Georgetown is devoid of a 20-pound weight thrower, a shot putter and a high jumper. Though these field events are a weak link in the team's lineup, it has talented women in the other events.

In particular, the Lady Hoyas have some young talent this year, including distance runner Christine Constantin, jumper and hurdler Judith Owen and sprinter Steffanie Smith; all three are freshmen.

However, it's too early for Gagliano to key in on individual match- ups -- that will have to wait for later meets, such as the ECACs. What he would like to do is establish a relationship, or rivalry between Penn State and Georgetown.

"(Georgetown) is certainly a team to be reckoned with, but I'm not looking for a cut-throat rivalry," Jordan said.

Jordan has moved some of her runners to shorter events, such as junior Wendy Nelson, who will run only the mile as a break from her normal 5,000-meter race. Nelson hopes to do it in under 5:05; last year she won the event in 5:09.1.

Senior middle distance captain Teressa Diperna will be running the half-mile in her first indoor meet of the season; she has been out with a knee injury.

Diperna said she is "charged up" for the meet.

"I just hope to stay up with the pack," she said.