Decathletes are often considered the most talented competitors in track and field, but few people know who they are or what they do.

Penn State is stockpiled with these great athletes, as the Nittany Lions are coming off of a week where their decathletes performed well at the Auburn Tiger Classic. Chris Morrisey was runner-up with 6,831 points, James Myles finished fourth with 6,247 points and Shawn Colligan took seventh with 5,997 points.

But because these athletes are such rare competitors, finding great decathletes can be difficult.

"They don't necessarily have outstanding talent in one specific event, but they got to have a lot of skill to be able to apply it to the different events," Penn State head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "You combine skill with a hungry attitude, the mindset to learn and the ability to be a technician, and you can certainly get a great decathlete."

Greek for "10 contests," the decathlon features five events a day over two days. Unlike most events in a meet, a decathlon performance is judged on a point system, not by position attained.

The first day, which focuses on speed and explosiveness, sees athletes compete in the 100-meter dash, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump and the 400-meter dash. The second day of competition has the 110-meter hurdles, the discus, the pole vault, the javelin and the 1500-meter run. The second day is more about technique and endurance.

"We joke around that the first day of the decathlon is called 'the day for athletes' and the second day is called 'the day for decathletes,' " Morrisey said. "There's a lot of people that are really good at the first day, but they fall apart on the second day and lose tons of points. I get plenty of points on the first day, and I try to minimize my damages on the second day."

The final event of the decathlon is the 1500-meter run, considered to be the real test of a true decathlete.

"[It] just shows how much guts you have," Colligan said. "You don't really train for that, it's just a matter of how much you put on the line."

Colligan said the decathlon is such a grueling event that it sometimes takes two days for his body to fully recover.

Because of that physical and mental grind, Penn State's multi-event athletes will usually compete in two outdoor decathlons before the Big Ten Championships. In meets that do not have the decathlon, the decathletes will compete in the throwing, running and jumping events where they need improvement.

In the two weeks leading up to a decathlon, the athletes will try to work on each of the events at least once, and they will try to work on their weaker events again if time permits.

"It's a lot of work and you got to have a mindset of being able to do multiple events in a certain day," Penn State assistant coach Drew Hardyk said. "Because of the time constraints in practice and the physical limitations of doing 10 events, you're not going to be as good at your best events, but you got to work to be better at your weaker events."

Penn State has a history of great decathletes. James Cook was a three-time All-American from 1996-1998, and J. T. Kuretich was the Big Ten Champion in 2003.

Like Cook and Kuretich, Morrisey was recruited to come to Penn State as a decathlete. A hurdler and a high jumper out of high school, Morrisey has been working on multi-events since he first came to campus.

Colligan was initially recruited as a hurdler, but after a short time on campus he thought he would give the decathlon a shot.

He said it took him about a year and a half to become an "average" decathlete.

"I knew I was decently fast, I was a good hurdler and I could long jump," Colligan said. "In the other events, I just had to learn how to do them, and the coaches thought I was a pretty good athlete and could pick them up."

Penn State will continue to field great decathletes. Alford-Sullivan said that the decathlon has long been an important event not only at Penn State, but also to the Big Ten.

"We have a great history of decathletes, from back in the day to the current day," Alford-Sullivan said. "The conference has a great history of decathletes too. It's one of the premier events at our conference meets.