Four years ago, Chavous Nichols, then the Colorado State high school champion in the triple jump, received what must rank as one of the most persuasive recruiting pitches in the history of collegiate athletics.

"I told him that if he didn't come to Penn State I was going to break both of his legs," said Penn State track and field coach Harry Groves with a grin. "Chavous loves to go around telling that story."

A quick look at the willowy Nichols makes it seem entirely possible that the ageless wonder Groves might actually be able to do just that. However, with half of his senior outdoor season remaining, Nichols' legs, both intact, are on the verge of carrying him into the Penn State record books.

Already the Penn State record holder in the indoor triple jump, Nichols' jump of 53 feet 4 1/2 inches at Saturday's Nittany Lion Relays brings him within inches of Antonio Davis's record set at the 1992 NCAA Championships.

Nichols' new personal best headlined an outstanding day for the Penn State, who picked up five NCAA regional qualifying marks on a sunny Saturday at the Nittany Lion track facility in its last tune up for next weekend's Penn Relays.

For the third week in a row, Penn State's throwers dominated its competition, with Matt Moyer, Kyle Wintersteen and Bret Kershner once again sweeping the top three spots in the javelin. All three topped the NCAA regional qualifying distance of 61.62 feet, bringing the number of Lions who have already qualified in the event to four.

Senior Dave Bollinger also qualified in the pole vault, with a stunning performance that captivated both the fans and athletes that witnessed it.

Bollinger entered the competition with a personal best of 16-3 1/2, but after the second-place finisher dropped out between 14 and 15 feet, the senior put on a show. Bollinger completed vault after vault, finally ending the afternoon with three narrow misses at the Penn State record height of 17 feet 5 inches.

Nevertheless, Bollinger still managed to raise his personal best nearly a foot to 17 feet, and eclipse the NCAA regional qualifying standard of 16-4 3/4.

As impressive as this performance was, Nichols stole the show with his outstanding jump and enthusiastic response upon seeing his distance.

"I have been struggling a little bit lately," he said. "Sometimes you just need to relax and let everything happen, and I guess I did that today."

With more than half the outdoor season remaining and Nichols just coming into form, he admits that he has Davis's record in his sights.

"It's definitely one of my major goals," he said. "It's always good to improve, and we aren't even midway through the season yet. We'll see what happens."