The 2004 Olympic Games don't get underway until August, but someone forgot to tell a certain Penn State gymnast.

The Nittany Lions all-around sophomore sensation Luis Vargas captured the NCAA all-around title this past weekend at the NCAA championships, tallying a total of four All-American honors, in what was a gymnastics display of Olympic proportions.

But, maybe the factor of greatest importance was not in Vargas' achievements, but in the momentum gained that could propel him through unknown territory this summer as he competes for Puerto Rico at the Olympics in Athens, Greece.

It was a breakout performance that Vargas knew he had in him; Lions head coach Randy Jepson knew he could do it, and his teammates thought they knew what he was capable of.

But, he had never done it as a collegiate athlete. Not to that lofty level and certainly not under such pressurized circumstances.

"He's amazing," Jepson said of his budding star. "He was just unbelievable. The team has never seen him in that mode. He has the ability where he goes to a different gear, and he found it and there was no stopping him on Saturday."

A little more than a year ago Vargas jumped onto the competitive college scene, and it was a transition not nearly as fluid as Vargas' gymnastics maneuvers. A transition that made it seem as though competing on the Olympic stage was a far off dream for Vargas.

Before he even stepped foot on campus Vargas was attending the University of Puerto Rico and training with the country's national team coach, when Jepson tried to bring him to Penn State. It was just a time when Vargas wasn't ready to leave home, and so he remained in his native country.

However, the next year Jepson came knocking on Vargas' door again, and this time he opened the door.

The initial shock of being away from home combined with competing week after week for nearly four months was not something that Vargas was accustomed to. Vargas' unfamiliarity with non-stop competition was something that Jepson has admitted he should have picked up on earlier.

It was a mistake that Jepson would not make twice, as he rested Vargas throughout this season quite regularly. Also, Vargas competed on the international stage in Germany and New York. The combination of Jepson's lineup adjustments and Vargas' international exploits was the ideal setup to have Vargas primed to peak during Big Tens and NCAAs.

"I think that the difference this year is that I took it easy a little bit, and this year I improved throughout the year a little bit," Vargas said. "Then at NCAAs I put everything together, where last year I competed good and then at Big Tens and NCAAs I was tired a little bit."

The communication with his head coach is what Vargas says was one of his major improvements since his freshman season, aside from the inevitable growth he made in the gym.

"Last year I just came into the gym and did my job," Vargas said. "I didn't care if I was tired or not, but this year [coach and I] talked a little bit more and I would tell him if I needed a rest or not."

Resting may have been a key to winning national titles, but it is not going to earn Vargas any medals in Athens.

Jepson's said that he's been working on learning other skills that have made his routines much more difficult, specifically on vault and floor, two of Vargas' weakest events. Jepson knows Olympic-caliber gymnastics, and he says that Vargas' parallel bars and high bar routines are world class, and his pommel horse routine is nothing to scoff at.

However, a world-class routine isn't something that a gymnast wakes up one day and can just do. The ability is a gift. A gift that Vargas has.

"He's got a couple of things," Jepson said of what makes Vargas so special. "He's got a great body line and a calm demeanor. And he has a lot of experience. He's been to a lot of different competitions around the world and he's pretty much seen it all at this point."

One thing that Vargas has seen that could benefit him this summer are several judges from the NCAA Championships that he believes will be judging Olympic competition.

"[The judges] know who I am already, they have my name, and I think I'm going to do well," Vargas said.

Right now judges are not the main priority for Jepson and Vargas.

For the next couple of days Vargas is going to train by doing some light conditioning, and then he's going to work on his routines for one or two weeks before he travels to Romania to kick his training into high gear before the Games begin.

"He still needs to get stronger and work on his routines, but he's got a great future," Jepson said. "Luis is right on target for a good performance at Athens."

If Vargas' transition from NCAA competition to world-class competition is as smooth as the transition he made from his freshman to sophomore year, then the world will have no choice but to take notice of what Penn State coaches and gymnasts have known for almost two years.