For the men's track team, this weekend's Jim Thorpe Invitational was just another meet -- a good opportunity to qualify for the IC4As, prepare for the upcoming Dogwood Relays and gain invaluable experience in the decathlon.

But for Native Americans, this weekend's track meet wasn't nearly as significant as the legacy left behind by the courageous and legendary American Indian, James Francis Thorpe.

It's the legacy that named Thorpe the outstanding athlete during the first half of the 20th century, beating out the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Red Grange.

And that legacy awarded and then snatched the two gold medals (pentathlon and decathlon) that Thorpe won in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.

More importantly, however, it was his legacy that transformed him from his national symbolic status, into the role model that he is for Native Americans living in America today.

"He's a definite role model for Indians," said Native American Phillip Shortman, a doctoral candidate in curriculum instruction and one of only 10 American Indian students currently at Penn State. "He was an excellent athlete and he still made it after he was forced from his homes many times during his life."

It's safe to say that Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox tribes, did not live an easy life; he was constantly on the run.

Thorpe was born on a reservation in 1888 in the Indian territory now known as Oklahoma. And it was there, where his mother named him Wa-Tho-Huck, which translates into "Bright Path." In many ways, that Indian name forshadowed much of Thorpe's life.

The Indian reservation was a lot like a practice field for Thorpe. There, he fine-tuned his athletic prowess with outdoor games which taught him how to run, jump and throw. The Indians played games for recreation while living on the reservation; it was entrenched into their culture.

"Indians have perceptions of distances and wide open spaces," Shortman said. "They always run from point A to point B and see things from a different perspective."

And it was those games that proved to be the foundation for the Native American who would later star in three sports.

Then, in 1904, Thorpe made his big move. In pursuit of an education at age 16, Thorpe walked from his reservation in Oklahoma to The Carlisle (Pa.) Indian School. The school provided the springboard for Thorpe's incredible future as well as developing his athletic skills.

In Carlisle, Glenn "Pop" Warner turned the "humble and natural" Thorpe into a two-sport Olympian, a football and a baseball star. He also served as Thorpe's mentor and motivator.

After his Olympic heroics, Thorpe was revered in Carlisle and around the nation. However, his involvement in professional baseball bitterly came back to haunt him. He unknowingly earned money playing summer ball, and that directly led to the stripping of his medals.

The decathlon became Thorpe's biggest athletic stage. His performance in 1912 has been equalled only a few times. This was the event that brought him fame. In the 1912 Olympic Games he accumulated 8,412.96 points, still one of the best peformances ever in the 10-event spectacle.

And almost 80 years after Thorpe's incredible day, the decathlon is fittingly the featured event in an invitational named after one of the greatest track stars and Native American athletes of all-time.

"The meet (Jim Thorpe Invitational) hasn't always featured the decathlon," said track coach Harry Groves, who met Thorpe in person when (Thorpe) received his award for Outstanding Athlete of the first half of the 20th Century at Temple University in 1952.

"But for the last 10 years, whatever the format (of the meet), Thorpe's name has remained as a tribute to the American Indians," Groves added.

"We will always remember Jim Thorpe for his outstanding athletic success and for the acclaim he brought to the Native Americans," Shortman said.

But other Native Americans have had track success comparable to Thorpe's. For example, Billy Mills fought to win a gold medal in the 10,000-meter run in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. And 40 years since his death, the Thorpe legend continues to grow. Stories fly about "Bright Path's" various jobs in several cities.

Even though there are presently only 10 Native American students attending Penn State, they can always look back with pride and find inspiration in their "Bright Path", Jim Thorpe.