On the track, there is the glitz and glamour of the 4x400-meter relay -- the fast, furious sprints and the gritty distance runners.

But a few mistakes on the track can shift the duty of winning a championship to the inside of the track, to the field.

"It's a straight dope, or what you figure is going to happen in each of the events," Penn State coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

"You need some realism in there ... if we're catching breaks, there's a chance that someone else will catch breaks."

The Penn State women's track team is banking on its strength in the sprints to cancel out Michigan's edge in the distance runs in this weekend's Big Ten championships.

But that could all change if the "straight dope" doesn't go as planned.

Some scenarios are daunting to Penn State's chances at defending last year's Big Ten title. Michigan senior Lindsey Gallo leads the Wolverines distance runners, who lead the conference with the three best times in the 1-mile run.

The Wolverines are also nationally qualified in the distance medley relay.

And if the Lions' young sprinters come up short at the finish line, then Penn State is going to need some other breaks.

"We work all season to pull together going into these three days," Alford-Sullivan said. "To be a team that makes their own breaks."

That policy might be well insured. Many people forget the second word in "track and field."

A big performance in the field wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

An area in which Penn State has the advantage is throwing.

Junior Jennifer Leatherman and senior throws captain Kate Johnston are ranked first and second in the Big Ten in the weight throw, and Leatherman is first in the shot put.

Michigan has nobody in the top five of either event.

"It's going to be a little bit different because Michigan used to be really strong in the throws," Penn State throws coach Dayna Holston said.

For Penn State's throwers, the key is to stay consistent.

Though the Nittany Lions are on top of the conference, Ohio State thrower senior Shelaine Larson is currently third in the weight throw, less than 6 inches off of Johnston, and second in the shot put, less than 2 feet off of Leatherman's top mark.

"The Big Ten is just a fight," Holston said. "Whoever is there is going to show up, so we need to show up."

Ohio State might be Penn State's main competition in the field.

Penn State freshman Gayle Hunter, who is also a top performer in the sprints and pentathlon, is second in the Big Ten long jump rankings with a top mark of 20.04 feet.

Ohio State's senior Rosiland Goodwin is currently first.

Pole vault might not have been a huge scoring area for the Lions this year, but Penn State will at least benefit from having someone compete.

When the Lions beat Michigan at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup two weekends ago, sophomore vaulter Kelly Nesbit didn't compete because of an illness. Nesbit is ranked fifth in the Big Ten, and could factor into the point totals this weekend.

"You score through eight places and the top-eight finishers in each event," Alford-Sullivan said.

"Not only do you need your frontrunners and your stars to make sure they get their job done, you've got to have some breaks along the way, and you've got to be scrappy in doing that."

The fighting won't just be on the track when the announcer calls the audience's attention to the runners.

The real battles might be on the field, with throwers grunting, jumpers fighting gravity and pole-vaulters leaping the bar for a win.