The next stop on the outdoor tour for the men's track team is the George Mason Invitational in Fairfax, Va.

Tomorrow, Penn State will compete against teams including Maryland, James Madison and St. Augustine, the NCAA champions for Division II. The Lions will be trying for NCAA qualifying marks, since the meet is not scored.

"Right now, we're pulling the loose ends together after Penn," Coach Harry Groves said. "We're getting things honed down so we can iron out the bugs.

"We're showing flashes of brilliance, and it is a matter of keeping the momentum so we can do it at Big Tens."

Indeed, the Lions kicked off the outdoor season by displayiong all-out excellence at the Colonial Relays at William & Mary, as they dominated the field events and finished strong in the relays.

The next weekend, Penn State outdid itself, placing second behind defending NCAA champions Arkansas at the Hot Springs Invitational.

There were also stellar individual performances throughout the season.

Antonio Davis reached the pinnacle of his season, by nailing the triple jump at Penn Relays last weekend with a leap of 53-11, which automatically qualifies him for the NCAAs. His leap also broke the Penn Relays record and the Penn State record. Davis has also provisionally qualified for the NCAAs in the long jump.

Brian Milne remains undefeated in the discus and he continued his winning streak at Penn Relays by winning the Championship of America. His season best of 201-2 set a record for Tommy Holt Stadium in Hot Springs, Ark., and he has met the NCAA automatic qualifying mark three times this season.

"I feel very confident as far as the discus and shot put are concerned and I feel that I can produce a good performance at Big Tens," Milne said.

Two Lions have provisionally qualified for NCAAs in the intermediate hurdles: Kevin Cripanuk and Brian Kelley.

In other field events, Mason Ternay has been victorious in the pole vault in four out of five meets.

In the high jump, the Lions have been counting on Aron Gawne and Dave Kriz. Gawne reached a personal best of 7-0 at the Colonial Relays.

In the javelin, the trio of Rob Austin, Tony Kokolis and Brad Boich are at the top of the competition. Austin had an impressive showing at Penn Relays, placing fourth in the college division.

Consistent scorers in the sprints are Jon Strange, Tom Bisko, Kevin Spencer and Mark Crawford.

In the distance events, Mark Wimmer attained a personal best in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30.14.0 at the Penn Relays. Also at Penn Relays, Ken Cooper ran his second best ever in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:15.7.

With these fine individual performances, Penn State should be a strong competitor at the Big Ten Championships, which are less than a month away.

"I think we're definitely a top-five team at Big Tens, if everything goes the way it should," co-captain Andy Scott said.