Trackmen tune up for Big Tens

The Penn State men's indoor track team has its eyes set on making a strong impression at the Big Ten championships in two weeks. Before the Nittany Lions tackle the Big Tens, though, they will try to tune up and run over the competition when they host the President's Invitational tomorrow.

Unlike the meet the Lions ran a week ago at Princeton, the Invitational will be a non-scoring competition. Penn State coach Harry Groves said the meet will help his team smooth out its rough edges and sharpen its skills before facing the fierce Big Ten competition.

"This is a meet that will help us prepare for the Big Tens," Groves said. "It will give a lot of our guys a chance to work out the kinks and improve on their performances."

The Lions are coming off a third-place finish in a meet with Princeton and Penn last weekend. Although he was disappointed with the loss, Groves said the Lions performed well.

"We did a lot of battling. There was not a weak event in the meet," he said. "Princeton had a lot of depth and it showed. We had Penn until the last three events, but they really came on in the pole vault, high jump and triple jump."

Several Lions performed well in Princeton. Neal McNutt, Dave Matson and Joe Loner captured victories in the 35-pound weight throw, shot put and 800-meter run, respectively.

Loner said it felt good to step up his performance and earn a victory at the meet.

"It always means a lot to win," Loner said. "It's gratifying because it helps the team in a big way."

Damon Reed and Nate Goins also put forth solid efforts at Princeton. Reed narrowly missed winning the 200-meter dash, settling for second. Goins finished second in the 55-meter high hurdles with a personal best time of 7.58.

Goins said tomorrow's Invitational will be a stepping stone that will give him a better understanding of where he stands heading into Big Tens.

Although they have enjoyed a good season, Loner said a few things have to fall in to place if the Lions are to succeed in the Big Tens.

"We have to get some guys healthy," Loner said. "We have to get some tougher competition to sharpen our skills, and then I think we'll be in good shape."