Assistant coach Jeri Daniels-Elder said she wants to see sweat and sunburn on the Penn State athletes' faces this Sunday during the Quaker Invitational at the University of Pennsylvania.

The women's track team is sending 28 athletes to compete this weekend, the largest amount allowed for a traveling squad, Daniels-Elder said. She added that anyone who might qualify for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships will attend the invitational.

Other universities participating are Temple, Cornell, Rutgers, Syracuse, Lafayette, Princeton, Fortham and Penn.

Coach Teri Jordan said some of the Lady Lions are ready to qualify for NCAA Outdoor Championships. Jordan said she is optimistic that Shelley Mitchell will qualify for NCAAs in the 400-meter hurdles and added javelin throwers Jen Crouch and Stacey Gibbs to her list of hopeful NCAA qualifiers.

"All we need is a good day," Jordan said.

Jordan said because Pam Connell has the weekend off to prepare for the Dogwood Relays at Tennessee next week, the Lady Lions are experimenting with alternates on the relay squads.

Daniels-Elder explained if the Lady Lions get good marks Sunday, they have a better chance to be considered for the championship sections in the Penn Relays, to be held April 23-27. The relays will be held on Franklin Field, the same field the team is competing on this weekend.

In most events, the championship sections are usually the top 8-10 athletes competing against each other rather than the entire field of entrants. Jordan explained the advantages to competing in the championship sections. Usually an athlete performs better when competing against other excellent athletes, she said. Jordan also said the time an athlete must wait to perform is shorter due to the smaller groups.

Jordan said approximatly 150 universities compete annualy in the Penn Relays.

Daniels-Elder said the recent warm weather is boosting morale for the invitational this weekend.

"There is a direct correlation between nice days and good performances," Daniels-Elder said.