For the third straight week, the Penn State women's track and field team will be competing from the comfort of its home facility.

After successful home performances the past two weekends, the team will serve as host of the the Penn State National Invitational 5:45 tonight and tomorrow morning at 9:45 at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track at the Multi-sport Facility.

This weekend's field will be the most competitive Penn State has faced, with athletes being invited to compete based on prior performances.

Schools such as Tennessee, Villanova, and Virginia Tech are among the prominent teams sending runners.

The Nittany Lions will get a boost from the return of four-time All-American Shana Cox, who has yet to run this season. Cox will run in three events this weekend: the distance medley relay, the 400-meter dash and the 4 x 400-meter relay.

Head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said that having Cox back will not only be exciting but will give the team a lift as well.

"Shana's a multiple-time school record holder and so it's always fun to get her on the track and see what she's going to do," Alford-Sullivan said. "She's a quality person so people on the team like her, and she's a good leader."

Though the team will be facing its toughest challenge yet with the field led by Tennessee, Alford-Sullivan feels Penn State is prepared.

For the Volunteers, it will be their fifth straight year competing in the Invitational.

According to Tennessee head coach J.J. Clark, the facilities are what keep the team coming back, as the hydraulic bank at the Ashenfelter Track creates a fast track.

"It's a 200-meter Mondo banked track, which is where you want to be," Clark said in a press release on Tennessee's Web site. "They also have a hydraulic system that allows them to raise and lower the turns for sprints and distance, and that makes a big difference.

Alford-Sullivan said that Tennessee always provides solid competition.

"This weekend they know they're facing some great competition," she said. "We as coaches do a lot to make them feel good physically but also they themselves have to rise to that occasion."