Army Invitational
1 p.m. tomorrow at West Point, N.Y.

Confidence was riding high on the Penn State men's track team at least week's meet. Doubts loomed around the Horace Ashenfelter III Track, but the Nittany Lions edged and overcame. The Lions will look to improve upon last week's invitational meet this weekend at West Point, N.Y.

The men's track team will experience a different type of meet this weekend, when instead of facing 15 teams, they will compete against only three. Army, Virginia Military Institute and Manhattan College will compete in an out-of-district meet. With such a smaller meet, men's track team coach Harry Groves was concerned about the depth of the Nittany Lions.

"The meet requires a concentration of talent and depth. I don't know if we have the depth," he said, "but I do know we have the concentration of talent."

Penn State's talent, including team leader Ernie Terrell, will look to outrun, out-throw and out-jump performers from the three competitors. One athlete to watch is Army's Ryan Keaton who scored a personal best of 15 feet 9 inches in the pole vault last weekend at the Black Night Invitational. Groves sees the teams as strong because athletics and running are a part of their everyday training.

"You can count on it that we'll give anyone a battle. Whether we win or lose is another question," he said. "The only thing you can do is shake the other guy's hand at the end. Trying to beat Army at Army is like trying to beat the United States of America."

-- By Ashley Pepsin