As the weather begins to turn more spring-like, the Penn State men's track and field team is beginning to emerge from its hibernation.

After a few months of competing inside, the Nittany Lions are ready to get back to where track and field belongs -- outside.

Although the personnel may change slightly, the goal is simple: continue with the winning ways that ended the indoor season.

The indoor season concluded with not just any win, as the Nittany Lions captured the world's oldest amateur athletic association championship, the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) indoor track and field title.

The 16-point victory over the 75 schools represented in Boston earned Penn State head coach Harry Groves the 10th IC4A crown of his illustrious career.

"It's always an honor to win the IC4A. It is always a talented field," Groves said.

He also added that this year's team was not picked to win but went out with the right mindset and work ethic and excelled.

"They worked their butts off," Groves said. "They went out there and gave it their all and willed themselves to a convincing win."

Leading the way for the Nittany Lions at the IC4A were freshmen Ryan Fritz and Chris Morrisey and sophomores Ron Jules and Mark Miller.

Fritz followed up his second-team all-Big Ten performance by earning a win in his first-ever IC4A high jump championship.

Morrisey was able to capture a second-place finish in the heptathlon.

Jules recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.34 seconds en route to winning the 55-meter hurdles, while Miller helped earn the team 14 points by finishing second in the 800 and running the anchor leg of the third-place 4x800 relay team.

All four look to lead the team to even more success outside. But, the team also loses some athletes who ran out of eligibility after the indoor season, most notably senior sprinter and multiple Penn State record-holder Ernie Terrell.

At the same time, however, the team will be adding some old but fresh faces to the lineup that did not have indoor eligibility, but are eligible to compete outdoors.

Distance runner Matt Lincoln will add strength and depth while being able to run any distance from the 800 to the 5K.

Adding depth to the throwers will be senior shot putter and discus thrower Dane Miller. He qualified for the NCAA championships in the shot put as a sophomore and looks to finish off his Penn State career with a good showing this spring.

The team has a loaded schedule that includes 10 meets and relays over the course of three months, so the team will continue to compete long after the end of the spring semester.

The highlights of the schedule include the three home meets: the Jim Thorpe Invitational on Saturday, the Nittany Lion Relays on April 20 and the Penn State Open on May 6.

Other notable meets are the 112th Penn Relays from April 27-29, the Big Ten Championships May 12-14, the NCAA East Region championships May 26-27, and the NCAA Championships June 7-10.

The team is ready to break out from the cavernous Multi-Sport Facility and get some fresh air with a good showing at the Jim Thorpe Invitational.

It is the beginning of a bear of a schedule, but Groves feels his team will do fine.

"This is an outside sport," he said, "and we're ready to get outside."