Trackmen look to keep balance at U.S. Military Academy

By MATT WONG
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State men's indoor track team will march into West Point, N.Y., tomorrow looking to test its balance.

After focusing on relays last week at the Bucknell-Hershey Relays, the Nittany Lions (4-0) will compete at a multi-team meet at the United States Military Academy with invited teams including Manhattan, Maryland, Lafayette, Lehigh and host Army.

"Army and Manhattan represent the very best in balanced teams," said Lion coach Harry Groves. "Throw us in there and this is going to be a great track meet."

Groves said he expects the meet to be a fight to the end.

"Expect a close meet and expect guys to compete very well," he said. "This meet can bring out the best in everybody."

Last week the meet at Bucknell was not scored but the Lions faired well, placing first in two events. Senior Carl Wolter won the 35-pound weight throw for the second week in a row and sophomore Duane Reeves took the long jump competition.

This week Reeves said he will continue to focus on his leaps.

"Our main goal is to win the team competition," Reeves said. "Individually, I'm focusing on qualifying for the nationals in the long jump."

The Lions beat Army and a host of other teams last year at West Point, placing first in the team-scoring meet with 135 points to second place Army's 99.

This year, however, with Army more balanced than before and with new NCAA rules in effect, it could be a more difficult win, Groves said.

Because of new team-scoring rules, each team can only score two individuals for each event, unlike the previous system where every athlete and his score were accounted for.

"It makes it difficult to win compared to the old system," Groves said. "Teams are going to hang in longer."

And Groves knows there are no excuses.

"We have to win with this scoring system whether we like it or not," he said.

But the new rules have not intimidated the Lions, Reeves said.

"Normally we can beat the competition easier, but we're still very confident," he said. "There's a lot of good competition and it's going to be a good battle."