Once junior Frank Duca finishes a final, he goes to track practice and focuses on lifting and throwing.

Then, he goes to his next final -- and he says he doesn't worry whether he failed or passed. He just continues practicing, launching hammer after hammer, as a way to de-stress from his long lineup of exams.

Like Duca and many athletes of the Penn State men's track and field team, practices will be something worked into their finals week schedules.

The team practices in the middle of the afternoon -- usually between 2:30 and 6 p.m. -- which means finals often break up practices scheduled for that time. However, the coaches have thought ahead.

"Practices will be for the most part voluntary," Penn State coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "Practice will be all over the charts. We're gonna be down at the track set up at 11 a.m. and the guys can come whenever they want."

Coaches have used this plan in previous semesters and it comes as a relief for athletes. Without having to worry about getting to practice, they can focus on studying and doing well on their finals, junior John Mahoney said.

Another relief for the athletes is the meet coming the weekend after finals week. It is a low-key meet and is also home, so the team will not have to travel and not worry about tiring itself out.

"When finals are over, we're pretty wiped out," Mahoney said. "The meet couldn't come at a better time."

The following weekend is Big Tens, and the team will have a full week to practice without classes or finals to work around. Last year, the conference championships were the weekend directly following finals. Mahoney remembered having a final Friday afternoon and had to go right to the meet, which took a lot out of him.

Part of finding a way to practice is getting in touch with teammates in your events, Mahoney added. Teammates repeatedly have to call each other to set up practice times around when the other isn't busy cramming for a final.

"We are used to it by now," junior Tim Johnson said. "We've traveled or had classes in the afternoon before. Budgeting time is a big part of college and we're getting better at it."

Freshman Blake Eaton said he had trouble managing his schedule earlier in the year and has since hired a time-management tutor to help him. One of the main things the tutor has done is help Eaton map out every day of the week to see when he has practice, a test, or something due.

Eaton has spent time studying at night for his finals -- which are on Monday and Friday. Penn State athletes have a study hall that is primarily for freshmen. However, he has seen older teammates studying there, already trying not to cram everything the night before.

Additionally, athletes are used to managing their time with classes in the mid-afternoon. Duca -- a biochemical engineering major -- said he's taken as many as 21 credits in the past, and he's had class until 4 p.m. during the spring semester.

Duca also recalled one day during his sophomore year he couldn't make it to practice because he had two finals and another the next day. Having voluntary practices makes it easier for the athletes to focus on school.

"The primary focus will be on finals," Mahoney said. "You have to do what you have to do, and you have to succeed in the classroom first."