"This is not just another track meet -- this is the IC4A."

These words, made famous by the late track and field announcing legend Jack "Legs" O'Reilly describes the magnitude and importance of this historic meet.

Coming off of the heels of the grueling Big Ten Championships, the Penn State men's track and field team will travel to Boston this weekend to compete against nearly 60 teams in the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) Championships, which begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

These championships carry with them more history than any other event in the collegiate track and field world. The IC4A is the world's oldest amateur athletic association and the list of champions reads as a "who's who" list in the track and field world.

This year will mark the 85th year of the IC4A indoor championships, and the Nittany Lions are poised to make another impressive showing. Over the years, Penn State teams have amassed six overall wins against some of the toughest competition in the country.

This year's team plans to be competitive, Penn State men's track and field head coach Harry Groves said.

"Our team is designed for a meet like this," Groves said. "We have a strong team all around and should score well."

In meets designed like the IC4As, how many athletes score for a team is sometimes just as important how well they score. Four fifth-place finishes may very well be better than one or two wins.

Leading the way for the Lions is freshman high jumper Ryan Fritz. Fritz, who earned second team All-Big Ten honors at last weekend's conference championships, recorded a top-30 mark in the event when he jumped 7-1.5 at the tri-meet with Princeton and Connecticut. Also coming off of strong performances at the Big Tens are sophomores Mark Miller and Ron Jules.

Miller finished third in the conference in the 800 and once again figures to be a part of the mix. Adding the 1,000 and the 4x800 relay to his schedule means he will be running in six events this weekend, giving him a full slate. Jules also finished third at the Big Tens, posting an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.91 in the 60-meter hurdles. Included in this year's field are four teams that won their respective conference championships, as well as UConn, who won the New England Championships.

The IC4A is the last meet of the season in which athletes can qualify for the NCAA Championships, which means competition will be fierce. Penn State is sending more than 30 athletes to compete in Boston, and each of them will be trying to make his mark on the most historic race in the country.