Chi Chi Aduba is back. Almost.

In her last meet, the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, the two-time All-American and Penn State senior was finally back in her old form. A second-place finish in the long jump and first-place in the triple jump are indications that Aduba took Matt Foley's advice and "got back on the right track."

It's a good thing for the Nittany Lions that she's back in time for the Big Ten Championships this weekend. The Penn State women's track and field team needs all the experience it can get to have a chance at winning its first-ever Big Ten title. Peaking at the right time is really the only lucky break Aduba has caught this season, especially after the way it began. She started the season against fairly light competition in the USTCA Series Meet, but only managed a second-place finish in the long jump.

"I really was physically exhausted from the offseason," Aduba said. "I was going through a strenuous lift schedule and my body was just really, really spent. That definitely contributed to my second-place finish in the long jump, but at the same time I was healthy, just seriously exhausted from training."

Shrugging off that sluggish start, Aduba launched into the triple jump competition. She demolished the challengers with a first-place mark of 42 feet 1 1/2 inches. That killer jump was even good enough for a NCAA provisional qualification. Obviously, the ominous start in the long jump was simply an anomaly... or was it? The soreness continued during the week, but Aduba still was certain it was only training fatigue.

"After the meet at Army [a week following the USTCA Series Meet] I was still really sore," she said. "The Monday after that meet in practice I wasn't sure how far I could push it, and on my last run through I pulled [my hip-flexor]. It's one of the hardest parts about being an athlete, knowing how far you can push your body. There's really nothing you can do sometimes to know your limits. It's just part of the game."

Aduba kept trying to work and compete despite the injury, but it just wasn't happening. At the Penn State National Open she finished a disappointing seventh in the long jump, and was scratched from the triple jump.

"I was disappointed because that was supposed to be such a big meet and I really was trying to do too much," Aduba said. "It was a wake up call really. I had to sit in the stands and watch everyone else compete and that was really frustrating, but I did get to see Sara Dougherty's NCAA-qualifying pole vault. That was awesome, and that's what it's really about: cheering on the team."

Cheering on the team is fine and dandy, but it was obvious Aduba wanted to get back in action. Her coach, Penn State assistant track coach Jeff McAuley, knew she needed to get healthy before she could compete.

"I know she wants to be in there," McAuley said. "But she can't just risk getting hurt more. I mean, that's obvious. She's just got to wait to get healthy to fulfill those wishes."

Aduba finally got her wish in the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. She wasn't the Aduba of old, but she was getting there.

"I was happy to get in there and work out the kinks in my jumps," said Aduba, after her first-place triple jump and second-place long jump finish in the Cup. "In my second flight I had an incredible jump that was marked foul," she said. "I think I was maybe an inch or two off the board, but really, really close. If there were such a thing as a perfect jump that would have been it. Obviously it wasn't perfect because it was a foul, but at least I know it's in me."

She knows she's still not at 100 percent, but her hip-flexor is a lot better than it was. She's mostly concerned about the long jump, and she's really hoping she gets it all back soon.

Aduba will have to hit that perfect jump this weekend to help obtain a perfect season for the Nittany Lions. Perfect, that is, if they win the Big Ten title.