The theme of the Penn State women's indoor track team so far this season has been working and gelling together as a team.

This weekend they hope to continue that theme in a meet that is centered on individual performances.

Friday and Saturday the team will be competing in the National Open at the Multi-Sport Complex. The meet will be much larger than the two the team has competed in over the past weeks.

It will pit top athletes from across the country against one another in each event.

Meets such as these tend to produce great achievements for the athletes because of the enhanced competition. This puts the individual on display more than team-scored events.

Despite this, the Nittany Lions are still trying to build on the team cohesiveness that they have generated this season.

"We are getting into the season now and we are trying to always be a team," sprinter and hurdler Toyin Augustus said. "We are going to go in there and cheer each other on."

So far this season the team has had much to cheer about. Its opening week saw a victory at home and the next week brought a second-place finish at Kent State.

"I think we are progressing really well," senior distance runner Susanne Heyer said.

Appropriately, both Augustus and Heyer were quick to give the accolades to teammates other than themselves.

They each pointed out that Jen Aylward jumped a personal best last week in the high jump and that her jump gives her a provisional qualifying height for nationals.

Augustus said that this is an example of how individual members of the team do better because the team as a whole is coming together and doing well.

For the team to succeed individual members do have to perform well and each has their own goal.

"I'm looking to improve on my personal best in the hurdles which would also improve on the school record," Augustus said.

"We are going in to the meet looking to really tear it up."