At a competition with some of the best opponents in the conference, a coach typically expects more competitive times and better showings from his or her team, but four seasonal bests from one athlete is a coach's dream.

This dream came true for the coaches of the Penn State women's indoor track team this weekend at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup with junior Chi Chi Aduba's stellar performances.

Aduba left little to be desired with her times and marks in the 60- and 200-meter dashes, long jump and triple jump over the course of the two-day event. "Chi Chi Aduba had some lifetime bests against some great competition," Penn State women's track and field assistant coach Jeff McAuley said.

Aduba's first standout showing came during day one of the competition when she grabbed a returning spot in the final heat of the 60-meter dash, beside teammate Connie Moore, who ended up winning the race. Aduba came in close behind, earning third place with a time of 7.58.

Later on in the night, Aduba took part in her second event, the long jump.

She proved why the event is one of her strongest by defeating the rest of the competition by over a foot.

Aduba earned first place honors with a provisionally-qualifying leap of 20-7.

"Chi Chi's weekend was ... it was just awesome," Penn State women's track and field coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

Her outstanding first day seemed difficult to match but the Penn State athlete showed that it was not impossible.

Aduba earned points for her fellow Lions with a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.69, another seasonal best.

The highlight of the evening came when Aduba and Pittsburgh's Melanie Carter began battling for the top spot in the triple jump.

After hitting a mark only an inch short of the automatic qualifying mark, Aduba had to sit back and watch Carter earn herself the spot at the NCAA's. Not to be out done, with her final jump, Aduba leaped 43-3 1/4 and set a new Penn State record and got her own ticket to the NCAA competition. This was the first automatic qualification received by anyone on the Penn State women's track team this year.

Carter ended up winning the triple jump but there was no sign of disappointment on Aduba's face. She jogged up and shook Carter's hand with a smile.

The weekend proved to be outstanding for the Lions, especially Aduba who did just what Alford-Sullivan wanted her team to do -- "fight like Lions."