Enter Lena Bettis.

Bettis, a junior with sophomore eligibility, is just beginning to come into her own at Penn State. After redshirting last season, she has given her coaching staff plenty of reason to be optimistic, with or without Hunter.

"It's one of those classic examples of making sure you have depth within your program," Alford-Sullivan said. "[Lena] is stepping up and now realizing the value in what she's doing and producing what we need in [the jumps]."

Bettis was brought into Penn State to be anything but depth. In her time at John W. North High School in Riverside, Calif., Bettis was a state champion and two-time All-American in the long jump, in addition to her state championship in the 1,600-meter relay as a freshman. Her high school best long jump of 19-10 feet -- which would have been good for second place in February's Big Ten Indoor Championships -- is still a distance Bettis has not yet reached in her college career, but she's getting closer.

"I wanna get back to that, and the feeling of that," Bettis said. "I'm still not satisfied with where I am judging by my performances coming out of high school, but I'm do make progress every weekend and for any athlete that's a good thing."

Bettis decided to peak at just the right time. At last weekend's Jim Thorpe Invitational, Bettis finished first in both the long jump and the triple jump, which is an event relatively new to her. She only started competing seriously in it at Penn State, and her potential in the event is beginning to show, as her jumps are constantly improving.

She placed sixth in the Big Ten with a triple jump of 39-11.25 feet -- a personal record -- and there's good reason to believe she's not stopping there.

"Triple jump is kinda new for me, so I can't say, 'I'm gonna jump this, I'm gonna jump that,' " Bettis said. "I just wanna do better every weekend so by the time Big Tens come again, I can put a big jump out there and hopefully win."

Bettis is glad the door is finally open to really show what she's got. After all, she's no stranger to what Hunter can do and the kind of attention she draws. Before coming to Penn State, Bettis and Hunter were teammates at John W. North, combining to dominate the jumping events at the California State Championships. Hunter's knowledge of Bettis' abilities means she isn't worried about the jumps without her services.

"I think Lena Bettis will step up," Hunter said shortly after deciding to take a medical redshirt. "I think our team has a good chance of winning Big Tens."

Alford-Sullivan found this to be a great time to give Bettis a little extra push.

"I said, 'Lena, look, you came here to get the opportunity to improve yourself in college. Let's get after it now,' " Alford-Sullivan said. "Her future looks great. She's been training, jumping and competing better than I've ever seen her."

"I have to make sure to keep up with the game now," Bettis said. "I have to make up for a lot of points, so I just have to keep that motivation."