It might not have been the best way to start the outdoor track season, but the Penn State men's track team managed to perform well in the wind and rain Saturday afternoon at the Jim Thorpe Invitational at the Nittany Lion Track.

Penn State won 14 of 19 events, with the hurdlers, throwers and jumpers standing out from the field. The Nittany Lions ran the top four times in the 400-meter hurdles, with senior Jaret Campisi edging out sophomore Shawn Colligan with a time of 54.65 seconds.

Penn State also swept the top three places in the shot put, with junior Dane Miller throwing a winning distance of 52 feet 6 inches, ahead of sophomore Jon Hart (52-5.5) and junior Steve Meyers (51-5.5).

For safety reasons, the pole vault, high jump, long jump and triple jump events were moved inside to the Multi-Sport Complex because of the rain. Sophomore Ryan Kleintop won the long jump and triple jump competitions with distances of 22 feet 8 inches and 46 feet 3.25 inches, respectively. Senior co-captain Dave Bollinger won the pole vault, clearing a height of 16 feet 6.75 inches, after he finished as runner-up in the pole vault event at the Big Ten Championships.

Despite the wet conditions, no events were cancelled, although the times were considerably slower than normal. Since the main point of the meet was transitioning into the outdoor season, it was important for the athletes to compete outside despite the weather and regardless of slower times.

"I get sick to my stomach listening to people panic in weather," Penn State coach Harry Groves said. "If you let weather bother you, you're never going to do anything."

Before the meet, Groves said the purpose of the meet was to familiarize the team with conditions outdoors after the completion of the indoor season in February.

"The whole idea in it is to get yourself changed over into the outdoor mode for competition," Groves said.