Try to imagine five ten-thousandths of a second.

Saturday at the Multi-Sport Facility, in the 200-meter dash at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, Penn State Senior Ernie Terrell edged teammate and friend Knowledge Timmons by a time equivalent to a single luminous step during the strike of a bolt of lightning.

In other words, he won by such a miniscule amount of time that nothing remotely simple or comprehensible could be used to explain its shortness.

To most of the team, it didn't matter. Terrell and Timmons finished first and second in the race, securing what would eventually be a cup-winning 18 points for their team in what was, until that point, anyone's meet. To the two sprinters, one in his last few weeks of NCAA eligibility, the other his first, and their worldly experienced coach, it was representative of the transition that has been going on all season.

Terrell, who, from the looks of his Terrell Owens-like build, has done a few sit-ups in his driveway, has established multiple school bests as one of the Big Ten's best long sprinters. He is now making sure his mark stays on more than a record book, spending time this season helping to groom the young Timmons, who could be Penn State's next great short sprinter.

The freshman came to Penn State to play football, but on one condition -- that Coach Joe Paterno would allow him to run track.

Timmons won three Pennsylvania state sprinting titles for William Penn Senior High School in York, Pa., and chose Happy Valley over Maryland, Minnesota and Boston College. His coaches agree that he has athletic ability dripping from his cornrows.

"Knowledge had a great high school career," Penn State men's track and field head coach Harry Groves said. "The longer you have him, the faster he's going to get, the faster his 200s and sprints are going to get. Knowledge is just beginning to get in shape."

Terrell, like Timmons, had a great high school career, and Groves thinks that has helped them relate.

"Ernie's more of a long sprinter, and Knowledge is a short, but I'm sure he learns a lot from Ernie," Groves said. "Like how to handle himself."

As someone who's seen most of what Big Ten track has to offer, Terrell recognized his teammate's raw ability and instinctively helped harness it.

"I've just been helping Knowledge keep his confidence up. He comes out, and we know he can run fast," Terrell said. "Coach will get on him because of his form; I just tell him to keep his head in it and it'll come to him."

Timmons acknowledged and appreciated the mentoring he's gotten from the senior.

"Yeah [Terrell] helped me with my form and conditioning and things," Timmons said. "[He said] to not worry about anybody else. All you've got to do is go out and worry about yourself and do what you know how to do."

Timmons' best events are the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the events in which he won state titles in high school. Because of space constraints, indoor track cuts the 100-meters to 60.

Saturday, he ran the 60 meters in 6.94 seconds, finishing eighth, but with a noticeable charge as he neared the finish, convincing most that if the sprint were another dozen strides, he could have caught the leader.

Terrell excels in the longer sprints, the 200 and 400 meters, and, aside from his win in the 200, ran his most impressive race in the 4x400 relay. The Lions fell too far behind in the race for Terrell, the anchor leg, to make it up, despite being significantly faster than the anchor leg of the winning team from Michigan.

"I said to Ernie, 'What's the matter, you getting soft? You can't make up 40 yards [in the 4x400]?' " Groves joked as his team dispersed after the meet. "I would love to see him about five yards closer [to the leader]. It was just too much to make up."

The head coach, who has spent much of his career around world-class runners, critiqued the speed of this current pair.

"Being a short sprinter, Knowledge's got a little more light speed," Groves said. "I would never expect him to run 400. Two hundred is the event they both can hit, and, in time, with Knowledge's speed, he might be better."

On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Lions will compete in the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the University of Iowa. The two sprinters, like their coaches, expect a lot from themselves.

Timmons, no stranger to a championship, thinks his team can win it all, but knows it will need a strong performance all around -- being a freshman makes him no exception.

"I want a to run probably a 6.7 [in the 60-meters], and a 21 low [in the 200]," Timmons said.

Terrell is just as confident.

"I think we'll do pretty well," he said on Saturday. "After the performance today, we'll get a lot faster. We've got two weeks to practice. I think things will progress, and, hopefully, we'll translate this victory over to Big Tens."

"It's just a matter of conditioning," Groves said, referring mainly to Timmons, who is still in what Groves called football shape, carrying a few more pounds than a sprinter should.

"Knowledge is going to contribute a lot, but are we ever going to be able to get him slimmed down?" said Groves, expressing both his excitement and concern at once.

"It all depends on a person's attitude, and how much he likes to do it. I kind of think Knowledge is the kind of guy who likes to win. That's a plus. Ernie scored a lot in the Big Tens a lot of times, so it's a good deal."