Twenty-three members of the men's track team will compete in the Bud Lite Invitational today and tomorrow at East Tennessee State University.

Shot putters C.J. Hunter and Phil Caraher, distance runners Steve Brown and Aidan O'Reilly in the 3,000-meter and a 3,200-meter relay team consisting of Doug Walter, Joe Stakbauer, Jon Strange and Mark Anderson will compete today in Grand Prix events that attract top athletes from across the country.

"It's a step up in terms of competition," Coach Harry Groves said.

Groves said about 700 to 800 athletes will compete in the meet. The track will be about 320 yards, almost the size of an outdoor track.

"You like to get on that type of facility," he said.

Walter said the track gives a runner more room because it's not as congested and the straightaways are longer.

He said this will probably be the largest meet the Lions compete at in terms of the number of teams. At smaller meets teammates can see each other compete and help cheer them on, Walter said. But he said at large invitationals the events are spread out.

"Sometimes you lose sight of what's going on with other people on the team," Walter said.

For today's events, an athlete had to qualify or be invited to compete because of the level of competition.

"I'm sure it'll be tough," Brown said. "It'll be a good test to see what I can do."

Brown explained how he and others qualified.

"It depends partly on your reputation and past marks. I haven't run a 3,000 in two-years; it's just from my times in the 5,000 and 1,000 early in the season."

Pentathlete and tri-captain Barry Walsh will not travel with the team this weekend because no pentathlon is being held. Multi-event athletes use most meets to compete in just one or two individual events to help prepare for the pentathlon.

Walsh added that there is really no use in his going to a meet of this weekend's caliber. He said he cannot score points and help the team when he is competing in individual events against top event specialists.

Walsh said he will compete in three pentathlons during the indoor season. One will be in order to qualify for IC4As, another is the USA/TAC meet and the third will be the IC4As.

"I like having the weekends off. I can keep working toward the meets I have a chance of scoring in and helping the team," Walsh said.

Walsh said his practices include two days of weight workouts a week and each day he runs and practices one or two events.