This weekend, the Midshipmen from Navy cordially invite the Lions from Penn State to participate in an outdoor track challenge, at The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

The occasion: A one-on-one dual meet.

What to Bring: Three athletes for each of the 19 outdoor events.

Penn State's visit to Annapolis represents an intriguing second leg on the Tour of the Great Outdoors, which began last week at Chapel Hill, N.C.

And for the second week in a row, Penn State will be taking a road trip to the South, where temperatures have soared in the 70s, a far cry from the damp, unpredictable weather of central Pennsylvania.

But putting all other variables aside, the upcoming meet with Navy is unique in many ways. The Midshipmen, a member of the Heptagonal Conference (Ivy League Schools plus Army and Navy) match up extremely well with Penn State. The shot put competition should be a dandy.

"Our best thrower, Rob Sayhrent, finished right behind (Phil Caraher) in the indoor (NCAAs)," said Cooksy, in his third year as Navy coach. "We match up fairly well in the throwing events, sprints, and in the hurdle races, but we can't compare with (Penn State) in distance running."

Navy, unlike most universities, has a junior varsity squad to accompany the varsity, which gives the Midshipmen a lot of athletes to work with.

"Navy is a different type of operation," Groves said. "They try to beat you with numbers. It seems that they throw the whole U.S. Naval Academy at you."

The Lions will try to build on their strong second-place finish in Carolina last week to get in shape for the "bigger" meets later in the season. And Navy has its annual grudge meet with Army next week.

But both coaches expect this meet to be as close as it has in past years.

"I think this will be a very close meet," Cooksy said.

"They'll definitely be a tough outfit to beat,"Groves said.