Competition for the Lady Lion indoor track team at Friday and Saturday's Terrier Classic in Boston included 2,200 athletes and nearly 200 teams from across the country. Penn State faced it well, racking up one first-place finish, two thirds, one fourth and three sixths.

A key performance for the Lady Lions came in the 4x800-meter relay. The team of Tresa Hohnka, Sue Huelster, Jill Kern and Anna DeRenzi won the event in 9:18.44. They also joined the distance medley and 4x400-meter relay teams as qualifiers for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in March.

"It was a good, challenging meet," Coach Teri Jordan said. "It brought out a lot of personal and season bests."

Previous ECAC qualifier Kris Kelly improved her time in the 5,000-meter race to 17:07.77. Kelli Hunt, Jamie Rutkoski, and Kim Harrity also dropped their times enough to qualify for ECACs.

Erin St. John almost went a step further, just missing national qualification with a sixth place in the 3,000-meter. Her time of 9:51.59 was slightly over the NCAA qualifying time of 9:44.0.

St. John said she expects to make the national time when she recovers from the flu.

DeRenzi and Kris Kelli also secured sixth-place finishes in the 1,000- and 3,000-meters, respectively.

Other athletes placing well were the high jumpers. Though they did not improve on their heights due to the conditions of the track, they fared well in comparison to other schools' jumpers.

"This track is conducive to running," Jordan said of the banked track at Boston University. "You don't get any help from this surface in jumping."

High jumper Holly Jones, who qualified for nationals last week against Georgetown, took third in the event. She was closely followed by teammate Danielle Gilliatt, who took fourth.

St. John said the pace of the meet, along with the number of runners, built excitement.

"It's very competitive," she said. "They put you on the track and run heat after heat, race after race. There are running events all day."

Jordan said the performances at the meet have already sparked excitement for Saturday's Millrose Games in New York.

"We're looking forward to next week," she said. "You can't help but get excited when everybody's doing so well."