Pride is in the air.

This past weekend, the Penn State women's indoor track team walked away from the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse in Indiana tired and with the knowledge that all of the hard practices were worth it. The women's track team rode home last night with big smiles and with an even bigger win. And today the team is bouncing off the walls with excitement. The Nittany Lions' third-place finish has made a benchmark in Penn State history. The highest honor prior to this weekend was fourth but perhaps what makes this win so impressive is that only one year ago they had taken seventh and in 2000 had brought home eighth place.

"I'm real excited we have achieved this level of accomplishment," Penn State women's track and field coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

The weekend was full of solid performances, which is what the team has been working on all season. The depth the Lions have been creating was integral to their win. This was no more blatant than in the quick switch made in the distance medley relay from Lizzie Gati to Lindsay Scottoline. Alford-Sullivan feels that it is necessary for the staff to have athletes both emotionally and physically ready to compete at a moment's notice. And she was right.

"We have a good team atmosphere," Alford-Sullivan said. "But we're not done yet. We're still rebuilding."

The strength of the recruiting program is also shining through again, seen with the relay team being composed of two freshmen and two sophomores, though the upperclassmen of the team brought home the hardware. Athletes like Deshaya Williams and Chi Chi Aduba blew away the competition the second day. Williams broke her prior season-best in the 20-pound weight throw by almost five feet, after taking a seventh place in the shot put with a throw several feet less than her usual marks.

Individually the track team walked away with six conference titles. This is doubled from the previous year. Aduba was the biggest winner overall with two new records to her name and first-place and second-place honors in the triple and long jump, respectively.

"I told the girls last Monday that I would be happy for about three and a half minutes when we won third on Sunday," Alford-Sullivan said. "But I'm going to let them feel proud of what they earned. But I'm ready to move into the future."

The team will be taking it easy over the next few days. Well, easier.

The Lions will now suit up several individuals for the ECAC competition this weekend in Cambridge, Mass.

With the weeks ahead and the transition going into outdoor coming fast, the team can look at this weekend with pride and use the confidence it has earned.

"We are the best track team Penn State has ever had and that's really something," Alford-Sullivan said.