Junior Sam Burley of the Penn men's track team will be competing this weekend, but unlike the rest of of his teammates, he will race on a much bigger stage.
"This weekend, the 800 [meters] is going to be the best competition I'll see all year outside of nationals," Burley said. "I'm really excited."
On paper, it looks like Burley is right.
The 800-meter lineup at the Penn State-Villanova-Princeton quad meet at Princeton on Saturday features not only Burley, but Tigers' runners David Dean and Ryan Smith. Smith edged Burley two weeks ago for second place at the Raleigh Relays.
In addition, 'Nova's lineup is bolstered by Adrian Blincoe -- the 3000 meter champion at the NCAA Indoor Championships -- and Ryan Hayden.
The Red and Blue, in general, have a huge task in front of them.
The Nittany Lions are one of the Big Ten's top teams and quickly established themselves by winning eight individual events at their first meet of the outdoor season, the Jim Thorpe Open.
The Tigers will also present a challenge. They are coming off last weekend's Sam Howell Invitational in which they claimed four events and set one school record.
"Obviously, [beating] Princeton is always our goal," Penn senior Matt Gioffre said. "Penn State is a great team, and beating them would definitely prove something nationally.
"But for the Ivies, we definitely want to take Princeton out."
Villanova, whom the Quakers have already seen twice this outdoor season, is also a threat.
"'Nova has a couple of really standout guys," Burley said. "Penn State and Princeton are just a lot deeper.
"I'm not really sure who [our toughest challenge is]. They're all pretty good."
Benefitting the Quakers is their momentum after winning six events last weekend at the Penn Invitational. The results were especially surprising considering the grueling week of practice they endured leading up to the meet.
According to Gioffre, this week's practices were less draining.
"We backed off a slight bit," Gioffre said. "We expect a lot of good performances this weekend.
"We're hoping to prove ourselves and to be at our best."
The Quakers are hoping to peak soon. There are only two weeks left before the much-hyped Penn Relays -- this competition and next weekend's dual meet against Columbia.
Since next weekend's meet will be "a little hard to try to get back up" for, according to Burley, the Red and Blue are determined to establish their form this weekend.
And with the extra rest, the Quakers are aiming to tame the Wildcats, Tigers and Lions, and turn them all into purring housecats.
