The Penn State men's track and field team will leave town for the first time this spring, as it heads to historic Franklin Field in cold and rainy Philadelphia to take part in the Penn Invitational, starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
This weekend's invitational will be much larger than last weekend's Jim Thorpe Invitational, in which the Nittany Lions won 15 of the 18 events contested. The Jim Thorpe was a nice start to the season, providing the team with its first outdoor competition, but only four other schools were represented, with Penn State vastly outnumbering and outclassing the rest of the field.
At the Penn Invitational, the Lions will compete against 15 other schools, including notables Penn, Navy, Cornell and St. Francis (N.Y.), in an unscored meet, and the team is looking forward to the added competition, especially considering the less than spring-like weather.
Penn State men's track and field head coach Harry Groves mentioned that the added competition in Philadelphia should make up for the weather.
"When the weather is this bad, you have two options," he said, "You can either go far west or far south to find better weather, or you can find better competition to push the athletes."
He also mentioned that during bad weather, the athletes might become discouraged because their performances may not be quite what they expect. But, add some opponents to compete against and beat, and an athlete's mindset and performance level will increase.
Some athletes were still able to perform exceptionally last weekend, even despite the dreary weather. The Lions were able to post three NCAA regional qualifying marks at the Jim Thorpe. Senior Scott Vernon qualified with a mark of 186-6 in the hammer throw, junior Steve Meyers posted a throw of 56-1 in the shot put and sophomore Allen Pettner currently holds the best javelin throw in the Big Ten with his toss of 218-2.
Unfortunately for the Lions, Pettner will not compete this weekend because of stiffness and arm fatigue. Javelin throwers are much like baseball pitchers in that their arms, legs and backs become stiff and sore because the body is performing an unnatural motion. So, much like a starting pitcher in the major leagues, a javelin thrower will often take time off in order to recuperate. Considering he has already qualified for regionals, Pettner will sit out and heal up for the remainder of the season.
Competing at Franklin Field will also give the younger members of the team some experience before the world famous Penn Relays, also held at Franklin Field in three weeks. The Penn Relays presents a new experience for most young athletes, as they are competing against the best athletes in college in a stadium packed with screaming fans while on national television.
This weekend may not be as exciting as the Relays, but it will give the younger Lions a chance to become accustomed to the surroundings in the big city, a far cry from Happy Valley.
So, the Lions head to Philadelphia looking for better weather. But, even if it is cold and rainy, the team will still be gaining valuable experience against good competition, which should help propel the team into the rest of the season.
"After looking at the results from last weekend, I was happy with the team's performance," Groves said. "But, we're looking to improve this weekend in Philadelphia."
