Growing up, many young track athletes probably held Olympians Marion Jones and Joice Maduaka in high esteem.

But at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, it was Jones and Maduaka following in the footsteps of the future stars of women's track and field, namely the athletes of Penn State track and field.

In the 400-meter run, freshman Shana Cox finished second in her heat with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 53.28 seconds, almost two seconds faster than Jones, who ran it in 55.03 seconds. This is the second straight year that Jones has fallen to a Penn State sprinter. Last year, Connie Moore beat Jones in the 200-meter dash.

Continuing the trend for Penn State, junior Sara Shoaff and sophomore Kamilah Salaam posted regional qualifying times as they beat Maduaka in the 200-meter dash. Shoaff finished fourth in 23.70 seconds while Salaam finished seventh in 23.82 seconds. Maduaka's time of 23.84 seconds was good enough to earn the british Olympian ninth place.

Not every day can somebody say that they beat an Olympian.

"I guess it feels good," Shoaff said with a laugh, adding that she had no idea she outran an Olympian. "I was just trying to hit the regional mark."

Shoaff said she was excited to compete against tough competition, but that she was never intimidated to know that Olympic-caliber athletes were sharing the same track.

In fact, she was worried more about familiar competition.

"I was a little nervous to run against Sierra Hauser-Price from Michigan," she said.

When the race was over, Shoaff's worries were nothing major as Hauser-Price finished 14th in 24.11 seconds.

Throughout the three days of competition from Friday to Sunday, the Nittany Lions displayed their mettle against some of the toughest competition.

Other world-renowned competitors included Olympian Jillian Camarena in the shot put and Shelia Burrell, the 2004 U.S. Outdoor Champion, in the heptathlon.

Junior Christen Clemson showcased the strength of the Penn State throws group, finishing second in the discus with a toss of 198 feet, 6 inches.

Junior Jennifer Leatherman finished fifth in the discus and the hammer throw. However, she could not continue the pattern of beating Olympians as she placed 11th in the shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 5 Ã~ inches. Camareno placed fourth.

The Lions continued to nail regional qualifying marks when senior Kate Johnston finished ninth in the hammer throw at 194 feet, 2 inches, and junior Diana Bruch earned third in the javelin at 148 feet, 3 inches.

Freshman Gayle Hunter did not get an opportunity to compete against Burrell in the long jump because the tendonitis in her right knee again caused her too much discomfort to compete.

Hunter said she will not compete in any jumping events for the next two to three weeks. Instead, she will use the time to rest her knees so she has a better chance to be healthy for the Big Ten meet.

Hunter did compete in the 100-meter hurdles finishing sixth in 14 seconds flat. She was also part of the winning 4x400-meter relay team that included Cox, Salaam, and freshman Dominique Blake. The team hit a regional qualifying time and an outdoor best of 3:37.60.

Despite the strong competition at the meet, Penn State came out of the weekend with confidence.

"We just had a good weekend," Shoaff said. "A lot of girls hit their regional marks. We're setting ourselves up for a good position in Big Tens."