They wear the same blue warm-up suits to class as the other sports' players, but they don't get the stares.

They practice as many hours per week, but they don't get the press.

They give every ounce of their moral fiber, and don't get the glory.

Well, who are they?

They are Shana Cox and Jennifer Leatherman, the most dominant athletes at Penn State.

Come again?

No use backtracking. You read correctly.

Women's track and field isn't exactly the most followed sport on the Penn State campus. People aren't pitching tents outside the Multi-Sport Facility in anticipation of the next two-day marathon event. But inside the building, two incredible talents shatter records and amaze spectators, teammates and coaches alike virtually every time they step onto the track. Even quarterback Michael Robinson -- heralded for anchoring Penn State football's return to glory and fifth-place finisher in the Heisman Trophy race -- had his off days.

Not Cox and Leatherman.

"In their events, at the level of sport, they are most certainly dominant," Penn State women's track and field coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

Cox, a sophomore and already an All-American, has posted the third-best time in the country in the 400-meter dash, her best event and an event in which she holds the school record. She's a legitimate National Championship contender.

Leatherman, also very much in the national mix, steals what few headlines her team receives this season. The senior and three-time All-American broke her own school records at almost every meet this season. Her outstanding distances in the 20-pound weight throw are good for fourth-best in the country, and, in head-to-head competition on Jan. 27, she defeated one of the three women above her, Virginia Tech senior Tamara Burns.

With such explosive performances, Cox and Leatherman like to look to each other for motivation.

"I found myself this year surrounding myself with people like Jen, which is really funny, because we don't even do the same event, and technically we don't even have to talk to each other at practice. But this year I got closer to her. I tell her I wanna be like her all the time," Cox said, laughing. "Surrounding yourself with people like that gives you a motivation to win."

While their statistics are most certainly impressive, it's Cox and Leatherman's event flexibility that makes them truly superior.

This season alone, Cox has broken the school records in the 400 -and 500-meter dashes and also has a team-best in the 200-meter dash, in which she is ranked nationally in the top 20. Cox placed second in the Big Ten in both the 200 and 400, and she also runs for the 4x400-meter relay team, which just won the Big Ten Championship.

Although the events sound similar, it takes an entirely different strategy and athleticism to run each one. Think of Magic Johnson's legendary performance in the 1980 NBA Finals when Johnson, a point guard, filled in for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at center and scored 42 points.

Leatherman shakes her head in awe at Cox's ability.

"She's just a cut above the rest athletically," Leatherman said. "She just dominates in her event, and she can beat people at their event."

Leatherman could well have been talking about herself.

In addition to her ascendance in the weight throw, Leatherman has a national top-15 distance in the shot put and has won each of the last two Big Ten Championships in both events, including her victories this past weekend at Madison, Wis.

Incredibly, Alford-Sullivan says we ain't seen nothin' yet.

"One of the interesting things about Jen is that the indoor weight throw -- as great as she is with that -- translates into the outdoor hammer throw, which she's more successful at," Alford-Sullivan said. "You're gonna see some amazing stuff if you come out."

So take Coach's advice. As indelible a memory as the Ohio State White Out will become, find some time to come witness some incredible individual performances at the Nittany Lions' next home meet -- during the outdoor season on April 1 -- and make some more worthwhile memories.

Then maybe Cox and Leatherman will get those stares of admiration they deserve.