Trackmen face tri-meet in N.J.

By MATT WONG
Collegian Staff Writer

In a sport of inches and seconds the Penn State men's indoor track team fell short last week at Kent State, losing its first meet of the season.

Coming off that one-point loss to Kent State, 151.5 to 150.5, the Nittany Lions (10-1) will look to get back on track tomorrow in a three-team meet in Princeton, N.J.

Despite the loss to the Flashes, the Lions still came away victorious against West Virginia (96.5) and Bowling Green (91.5), and also took first place in several events. John Gorham won both the long jump and the triple jump, Ryan Olkowski landed the high jump, Bradd DelMuto won the mile run and Carl Wolter placed first in the weight throw.

But this week they will have no time to relax as they face some of the fiercest competition in the East, namely Connecticut and host Princeton.

In last year's meet at Princeton, after a score recount the outcome was a difference of a point. The Lions prevailed as kings of the track, scoring 61 1/3 points to hold off the Huskies (60 1/3) and Tigers (59 1/3).

This contest is expected to hold form in terms of its competitiveness, coach Harry Groves said.

"You couldn't pick a winner right now," Groves said. "It's going to come down to who wants to win the most."

All three teams have since improved and are very confident coming into this competition, a meet that began last season and appears to be developing into a highly competitive showdown.

Groves is looking forward to the three-team meet because each school has a team that is able to score in each event, instead of just strong individuals, he said.

"This is what sports ought to be -- a team contest," Groves said.

Connecticut head coach Greg Roy agrees that the three teams share a similar philosophy -- each takes pride in being strong overall and being able to compete in every event.

And this year the same brand of intense competition is expected, said Princeton assistant coach Mike Brady.

"I don't know if it can be any closer, but it's definitely going to be exciting," Roy said. "It's not going to be a Girl Scout meet, that's for sure."