Finally, the people from Penn State can view the men's track team in action.

After two straight weeks on the road (at UNC and Navy), Penn State is hosting the Jim Thorpe Invitational at Nittany Lion Track today and tomorrow.

But the Jim Thorpe Invitational is not the regular one-on-one, team-against-team dual meet. While including the individual track and field events, the meet's main purpose is to showcase the gut-wrenching, two-day sporting extravaganza known as the decathalon.

The decathalon is a 10-event battle of sheer athleticism. And this weekend, many of the East Coast's and Canada's best decathletes will be competing here, starting at 1 p.m. today.

"In this meet, we're pushing the decathlon. But it also lets us work on all of the other events a little bit to prepare for The Dogwood Relay (April 12-13)," Coach Harry Groves said.

Penn State enters its athletes into three decathalons a season. And for Brian Kelly, Mike Frank and Bob Troia, The Jim Thorpe Invitational will be good experience.

"In high school I did the high jump, the hurdles and the pole vault," Troia said. "When I got here, they thought it was a good idea for me to do the full ten. This weekend I'd like to crack the high 5000(point) range."

The decathalon field has 11 athletes slated to compete in the physically draining event. And Kelly is looking to qualify for the IC4As.

"This past week we've worked on most of the events," said Kelly, who broke the national high school pentathalon last year.

"The best athletes in the world are decathletes," Groves added. "It combines speed, strength, agility, and endurance. To even compete in the decathalon you have to be a good all around athlete to start with."

Because of the event's degree of difficulty, five of the decathlaon's 10 events -- the 100-meter run, the long jump, the shot put, high jump and 400 meters --will be held today. Tomorrow has the 110-meter high hurdles, the discus, the pole vault, javelin and the grand finale, 1,500-meter run.

And as usual in the outdoor season, the weather will be a key factor. The better the weather, the more entrants the decathalon will have, Groves added.

"The wind can knock off the bar in the high jump or hurt you in the 100,"Kelly said.

The Jim Thorpe Invitational commerates the outstanding athletic prowess of American Indian Jim Thorpe, who won two gold medals in the decathalon and pentathalon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Thorpe is also known as the World's Greatest Athlete from the first half of the 20th century, beating out the likes of Babe Ruth and Red Grange. He attended the Carlisle, Pa. Indian School where he excelled in football, baseball and track.