In the Big Ten Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships, it is as simple as this: show up on game day, or get left in the dust.

Unfortunately for the Penn State men's track and field team, which competed in the 2005 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday and Sunday in West Lafayette, Ind., half the team showed up, while some could have been considered missing-in-action.

"You either step up or get rounded or hammered," Penn State coach Harry Groves said. "In this case, some of us stepped up and the rest got hammered."

As a result, the Nittany Lions finished ninth out of 11 teams at the championships. Last year they were eighth.

The Wisconsin Badgers won the meet with 144.5 points, followed by Indiana (105.5) and Illinois (96). This was the Badgers' fifth straight Big Ten title and their eighth in 11 years.

For the Lions, it was a frustrating meet, as they weren't able to consistently pull out enough top-three finishes in the events to be competitive.

"We competed well, but we didn't get enough guys in the finals," senior Jaret Campisi said.

Some of the top performers for the Lions were juniors Scott Vernon, Dane Miller, senior Dave Bollinger and the 4x400-meter relay team.

Vernon was runner-up in the 35-pound weight throw with a throw of 65 feet. His throw was also a NCAA provisional qualifying mark and a personal best.

"I think we did a good job," senior Ernie Terrell said. "A lot of the young guys stepped up."

Bollinger and the 4x400 team were also runners-up in their respective events. Bollinger hit a season-best (16-8.75) in the pole vault, and the relay team, consisting of seniors Chris Lolagne, Ernie Terrell, Jaret Campisi and junior Steve Morgan finished its event in a time of 3:13.26.

From the start, other teams showed why the Big Ten is considered one of the best conferences in the nation as every race, leap and throw was a battle.

"It was a really hard-fought meet," Groves said. "You had to fight like heck to get anything."

He also added that he expected several of the teams to finish in the top 15 in the nation in the power rankings.

Looking at the times, one might not believe that. But a part of that was due to the flat track, which slowed down the overall times at the meet.

"The competition was intense," Groves said. "The times, you can throw them out the window."

It also played a huge role in the performance of some Lions.

"I had to slow down at the turns and pickup at the straights," Terrell said.

But the Lions said that the biggest letdown of their performance was themselves.

"You always expect tough competition in the Big Tens," Campisi said. "But I thought it was us beating ourselves."

After the championships, the Lions had to rush out to catch their flight. They are hoping that next year they will be rushing to grab the Big Ten title.