This is the big one, folks. The Penn State women's track team gets its first taste of Big Ten action this weekend.

Perennial powerhouse and defending Big Ten champion Michigan returns to Happy Valley to the meet it dominated last year. The Wolverines racked up 172 points in the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup and are confident they can do it again.

Michigan has been the top team in the Big Ten for the last couple of seasons and has decided to rest some athletes this week. Superstars Katie Erdman and Lindsay Gallo will only be competing in one event each, and the Wolverines' best pole-vaulter will remain with about 10 teammates in Ann Arbor.

"We're not playing our trump cards this week," Michigan women's track assistant coach Mike McGuire said. "We know we can still compete with these teams without our full squad."

Not so fast my friend.

The Nittany Lions were recently ranked No. 3 in the USTCA Dual Meet Power Rankings, statistical rankings based on the coaches association polls and overall team depth in meet performances this season.

"Chi Chi Aduba is back to full strength in the triple jump, and she's going to be coming up big," Penn State women's track coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "Our distance medley relay squad is looking for a big drop in time against this killer competition. This is Connie Moore's last [home indoor] meet, and she's looking to go out with a big bang. It's going to be fun, everybody's turning up the juice."

For the seniors, like Moore, this will be the last meet at the Multi-Sport Indoor Facility.

Alford-Sullivan noted that all of the seniors will be pumped to leave their mark on Penn State with a win this weekend.

But an easy win is not in the cards for Penn State or Michigan this weekend.

Everyone has questions about Ohio State this year; a team with an incredible throwing corps and decent sprinters but an unknown, if absent at best, distance squad.

The meet is a preview of the Big Ten Championships, which is a mere two weeks away.

The winner this weekend could position itself into favorite status for the indoor championships, which are held in Iowa City.

"This is a typical Penn State team," McGuire said. "They've got some headliners and they've got some balance, very similar to us. Winning will be predicated on what the depth or balance people are gonna do. We know what the headliners are going to do. It's really up to what some others are going to do to step it up. That will be important in terms of winning this meet and, in turn, Big Tens."

Wisconsin will also be making the trip to Happy Valley this weekend, rounding out the Big Ten teams.

Eight non-conference opponents, including Ball State, Central Michigan, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, will also be at the meet. Competition begins tonight at the Multi-Sport Indoor Facility at 5:30 and resumes tomorrow at 11 a.m.