Coach Teri Jordan is staying put this weekend to coach most of her Lady Lions at the Penn State Last Chance Invitational at the Indoor Sports Complex. Tomorrow's meet is the "last chance" that the athletes have to qualify for ECAC Championships. Not all of the Lady Lions or their coaches are attending this meet.

Several assistant coaches will compete along with two Lady Lions today at The Athletics Congress National Championships at Madison Square Garden. Stacy Frank and Michelle Thompson will perform in the 20-pound weight throw. Assistant coaches Robyne Johnson and Carmen Mann are both competing in the triple jump. Mann is also jumping in the long jump. Assistant coach Teressa DiPrenna will run in the 800-meter event.

The TAC meet is a selector competition for the World Indoor Track Championships. Assistant coach Jeri Daniels-Elder said she is looking forward to the performances.

"The enthusiasm (of the crowd) was great last year. We can't wait to go," she said.

Five other Lady Lions are competing tomorrow at the Notre Dame Invitational. The 4x800-meter relay squad -- Shelley Mitchell, Dana Dougan, Laurie Morrow and Amanda Dudley -- has already qualified for ECACs. They will attempt for a qualifing time for the NCAAs. Wendy Nelson, an ECAC qualifier in the two-mile run, will compete in the 300-meters.

Dougan said yesterday they were having an easy practice day because it was too close to the meet to be running hard.

"This probably is the best chance we'll have to qualify. Everyone is running fresh. No one has any other events that day," Dougan said.

The Last Chance Invitational will start at 10:30 a.m. with the men's 35-pound throw. The women's 20-pound event will immediately follow. The jumping and running events will start at 11.

Athletes from Clarion, Lock Haven and University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown are definitely competing in the open meet. In an open meet, any athlete from anywhere could show up to perform.

"People could just walk in that day to compete," Jordan said.

Jordan said for some people this meet is the last chance to qualify for ECACs and for others it's a chance to tune up their performances.

Next weekend will mark the last time the Lady Lions will compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track Championships. The team will change their meet format due to Penn State's change to the Big Ten. The specifics of the new format is not known.