Brian Kelley is only a freshman.

And yesterday, at The Jim Thorpe Invitational, Kelley captured the decathlon, the 10-event, physically draining extravaganza for the first time, at The Nittany Lion Track. He also defeated a long-time rival of Penn State, Mark McClure from Malone College, 7,095 points to 6,678.

Penn State's Mike Frank finished fourth with an IC4A-qualifying 6,274 points and Bob Troia came in eighth with 4,567.

"I felt good," Kelley said after he won the decathalon. "But it was a long two days. I went into this not knowing what I was going to score. I went in to have some fun."

Over the two-day spectacle, while Kelley amassed the 7,095 points, he easily qualified himself for the IC4As, and received rave reviews from Coach Harry Groves.

"Brian did well. It was a great step for him and a good first effort," Groves said. "He had several PRs (Personal Records). It would have been good if he had just qualified for the IC4As," Groves added.

From day one, Kelley took command of the decathlon, but he only held a slim 83-point lead at 3,742 to 3,659 after the first five events. During the rain Friday, when the high jump had to be competed inside, Kelley's big win came in the 400 meters, which he ran in 49.2.

"After the first day you really don't know," Kelley said.

Then Kelley exploded. In the windy day two, he pulled away and won the pole vault (14'3"), and by the time the 1,500-meter run came around, Kelley did not find himself in a "must win situation." He still won the race at 4:30.2 and ultimately the decathlon.

"He kept the gap far enough," Groves said. "The events Brian won (the 400 and 1,500) were Mark's weaker ones."

Even though Kelley held off the veteran McClure, who used to do battle with ex-Lion Barry Walsh, Groves wanted to emphasize that Kelley's career has just begun.

"He's certainly a good prospect. But you got to walk before you run, and right now he (and PSU team) are at a fast walk trying to run," Groves said.

The Jim Thorpe Invitational, Penn State's third leg on the Tour of The Great Outdoors, also featured individual events which served as good preparation for the upcoming Dogwood Relays.

In the field events, Mitch Stetter high jumped 6'6"; Phil Caraher hurled 60'10½"; Mason Ternay pole vaulted 16'0", and Wes Waninger launched the javelin 199'8', a personal best.

"The field events were pretty decent," Groves added. "The track events were affected by a tailwind."

Antonio Davis won the 100-meter dash in 10.9 , Mike Adams sprinted the 200 meters in 21.0; Mike Crescenzi distanced the 800 meters in 1.59.4; Jerry Robbins won the 400 Intermediate hurdles in 55.1, and Aidan O'Reilly captured the 5,000-meter run in 14:53.

This weekend, Penn State will travel to Tennessee to battle 60-70 other teams in the prestigious Dogwood Relays.