GiGi Miller might have been officially labeled as an unattached runner and jumper during the Penn State women's track meet on Saturday, meaning she had no affiliation with either school. Yet she could be considered more attached to some on the team than many of its actual competitors.

In fact, new Penn State assistant coach Chris Johnson knows this to be true. He's engaged to Miller.

Johnson, formerly of the University of Arkansas, came to Penn State with his bride-to-be Miller, who was the 2001 national champion in the triple jump for Arkansas.

On Saturday, Nittany Lions' sophomore Kamilah Salaam and freshman Gayle Hunter got first-hand experience of how Miller, now a professional with an international resume, competes on the track. This is something that the Penn State coaching staff encourages.

"We look at the young kids having an opportunity of being around athletes of that caliber and learning from that," Penn State women's track-and-field coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

In the 55-meter dash, Miller put up a winning time of 7.04 seconds, just edging out Salaam's time of 7.11 seconds. Hunter's long jump of 5.65 meters wasn't good enough to beat Miller's jump of 5.68 meters. Miller, who is also a volunteer coach with the team, uses these events as training. On Saturday she won both events despite having younger trainees on her tail.

Alford-Sullivan understands that having her athletes in the same area code as Miller is a good enough start.

"To be charging up on GiGi, it's great competition. That's what we like to see, just compete," Alford-Sullivan said.

On the other hand, many athletes would be discouraged after losing by such a close margin, no matter the opponent. But for a freshman like Hunter, being able to compete, and sometimes even losing to Miller, is something that she enjoys.

"She just helps me better myself, so it was just fun going up against her," Hunter said.

For Johnson, joy didn't come from watching his fiancee's speed; Johnson was already acquainted with that. He met his future wife at a track meet in Atlanta, and for many years, he has watched her succeed on the track. In 2002, Miller was the fifth-ranked heptathlete in the United States in rankings by Track and Field News.

The more encouraging thing for Johnson, like Alford-Sullivan, was seeing his runners keep pace with his other half.

"I think my athletes competed well," Johnson said. "We still have some things that we have to work on, but all in all, they competed welal."

After two years as a volunteer assistant at Arkansas, Johnson said it is a great privilege getting to coach his own sprints, hurdles, and jumps group. At Arkansas, Johnson helped train Olympic sprinter LaShaunte'a Moore. Here at Penn State, Johnson sees talent that can win, not including his Miller.

"[Penn State's] a great program; it has great athletes, so hopefully we can get the job done," Johnson said.