Women's track team members were spread out in three different locations this weekend, but upon reuniting in State College and comparing notes, all realized it was a productive weekend.

Prior to the weekend, Coach Teri Jordan set three goals: to establish an NCAA qualifying time with one of the relay teams at the Mobile Invitational, to land a member on the Junior National World Championship Cross Country team and to see steady improvement from the team members competing in West Virginia. In achieving the goals, the team registered a hat trick.

At the prestigous Mobile Invitational in Fairfax, Va., the two-mile relay team of Shelley Mitchell, Laurie Morrow, Mary Beth Powers and Dawn Eidson earned an NCAA-provisional qualifying time with an 8-minute, 57.31-second finish. It was a relief registering the provisional status after several years of near-qualifiers, but based on the talented quartet, Jordan thinks an automatic qualifing time is more par to their abilities.

"Being provisionally qualified provides us with an opportunity, but we are capable of running faster," Jordan said.

Morrow, who is in her third year of competing in the two-mile relay, agreed with her coach, while at the same time she was glad to get the monkey off her back.

"After three years of trying, this is the first year we have finally qualified," Morrow said. "I was a little dissappointed that we didn't run faster, but I was relieved we did qualify. By the end of the season, our ultimate goal is to go to the nationals. We're optimistic."

The competition at the meet was exceptional, with stars such as Leroy Burrell and Jackie Joyner-Kersee on hand. Placing third was a great experience for the Penn State team, but being a part of the excitement and atmosphere was also fascinating, said Morrow, who at one point found herself stretching beside Joyner-Kersee.

The mile relay team of Jacky Brown, Jill Mallon, Powers and Mitchell placed first in the event in 3:51.37, but fell short of the qualifying time they had set out to achieve.

On Saturday, team members Kim and Kris Kelly traveled to Tennessee in an attempt to earn spots in the Cross Country World Championship meet for people under age 20. Kim Kelly established herself as one of the top 4,000-meter runners in the nation with a sixth place finish in the event -- landing a spot on the squad. Sister Kris will serve as an alternate after finishing 10th.

"That's a pretty big honor for Kim," Jordan said. "This should really build up her confidence, establishing herself as one of the best in the United States. And Kris is not far behind."

Kim Kelly managed to clock the event in 14:53, despite falling at the two-mile mark. She was running fourth at the time of the fall. Her sister finished in 15:42 after allowing the gap between herself and the pack to grow too large.

"It was an important lesson for Kris to learn," explained Jordan.

Kim Kelly will travel to Boston on March 21 to compete in the Junior National World Champioship meet. Jordan is quick to point out that it this type of meet where many future Olympians find themselves competing.

While the relay teams and the Kellys were toiling elsewhere, the remainder of the team trekked to Morgantown, W.Va., for the Hardee's Invitational. Since the roster was depleted, younger competitors and new faces stole the show.

In the 5,000 meters, sophomore Jenny Weaver captured first place with a clocking of 17:29.8, a season best. Leslee Martin also posted her best time of the season in the event (17:36.1) while placing third.

In the high jump Liz Fredgren impressed coaches with her first place jump of 5-6. In the 400 meters Amy Kopf (1:00.3) and Alicia Porro (59.4) showed improvement.

Meira Minard placed first in her heat of the mile in 5:10.7 and fifth in her heat of the 800 in 2:27.6.

Kim Kessel continued to consistently place high in the shot put with a second-place finish after a toss of 43-5.

This weekend the Lady Lions will find themselves at Boston University, a facility with a banked track, known for being fast. Usually the relay team alternates weeks in which they compete, but that may change considering how close they are to qualifying and the speedy track they will have to perform upon. Either way, the team members are confident they can reach the mark.

"We can do it," Morrow said. "It is just a matter of when."