Maybe it was the unusually sunny 50-degree weather Tuesday in State College, or maybe it was the excitement of the approaching meet this weekend. Whatever the reason, Penn State coach Beth Alford-Sullivan and her women's track and field team definitely had an extra flair present at practice. The always-positive Alford-Sullivan displayed an even more bubbly personality, and her team shared some laughs while waiting for practice to begin.

And of course, any extra jump in the Nittany Lions' steps could mean good things for the team, as it will be one of nearly 60 teams to travel to North Carolina State this weekend for the Raleigh Relays, Penn State's first outdoor meet of the season. The Lions will face several familiar foes as Virginia, Mount St. Mary's, and Bucknell will all trek south.

Alford-Sullivan expects a very intense and entertaining meet for her team.

"It gives us a great opportunity to get some good competition in," Alford-Sullivan said. "We really look forward to it every year."

One particular goal of this meet will be to shake out some kinks before the outdoor season moves into full gear. Alford-Sullivan said that with the events such as javelin, discus, the 4x100-meter relay, and the 400-meter hurdles added to the list of competition, it may take a few meets to really get into the swing of the season. She also said that the Raleigh Relays would allow the team to remove some rust in the traditional field events like the long jump, triple jump and pole vault.

"This is one of those first meets where we'll look rusty," Alford-Sullivan said. "Probably our results will be rusty. But you've got to get started at some point."

Alford-Sullivan said that it would take some time to get acclimated to competing outdoors, rather than in the sealed bubble of the Multi-sports Facility at Penn State.

"It's different outside," Alford-Sullivan said. "You have the wind to contend with. You have the weather to contend with."

While many schools will take only a few members, Penn State will take a full squad, with a few exceptions, notably freshman sprinter Shana Cox and senior distance runner Molly Landreth. Coming off of a redshirt indoor season, Landreth will not compete for another week or so, Alford-Sullivan said.

The Relays will afford Penn State a chance to develop some of the balance that Alford-Sullivan said was key for success earlier this year. However, Alford-Sullivan said that it might not be until late April for the balance to really appear because athletes such as Landreth and Cox will not be competing this early. Nevertheless, the Penn State skipper said her team is ready to go.

"I'm very, very excited for this outdoor team," she said. "Not only is it talented and all of those kinds of deals, it's actually very hungry."

And if it is the weather that has put this extra charge of energy into the Lions, they have a lot to look forward to this weekend. The forecast in Raleigh: 70-degrees and sunny.