Gayle Hunter's day at the Big Ten championships was drawing to a close last year when, 30 minutes before the final event, she found out she had to compete once more.

Sprints coach Chris Johnson's tendency to finalize the 1,600-meter relay team at the last possible second had crept up again.

"Everybody else warmed up, and I didn't," Hunter said. "I got late notice."

Not by Johnson's standards. Johnson said he usually isn't certain who will run the 1,600-meter relay until a half-hour before the event is scheduled to start -- in other words, when the entry sheet is due.

The trend has carried over to this season as well. In Penn State's 12 track and field meets to date, there have been 11 different groups of four.

Even Johnson couldn't help but shake things up with the one quartet that was duplicated. At the Penn State Relays on Jan. 19, the 1,600-meter relay team was Shavon Greaves, Briene Simmons, Dominique Blake and Aleesha Barber.

That same group also ran two weeks later at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, but the order of the relay was Simmons, Greaves, Barber and Blake.

All told, nine different sprinters have run on the 1,600-meter relay team, and Barber's 10 appearances lead the team.

Shana Cox, who has run seven times, surely would be near the top if she hadn't missed the first four meets to rest. Blake, with nine appearances, also seems firmly entrenched as one of the relay members.

Cox and Blake have also qualified for the 400-meter individual championship at both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships, making Penn State the only school in the country with two quarter-milers to qualify for nationals.

"If you can't get it right with two of the fastest legs in the nation," Blake said, "something's wrong."

Outside of those two legs, though, the remaining two are virtually a crapshoot.

"We all pretty much look at each other," Hunter said. "We know the four-by-four race is about to come around, but nobody's ever certain. Everybody's like, 'OK, all seven, eight, nine of us need to go warm up.' "

Johnson appreciates the flexibility, even if it does make for some nerve-wracking times.

"The more you have, the more competition the ladies get and the faster they run," Johnson said. "It's just that simple. You know if you're gonna fight to be a part of the relay, to be a part of that top 4 on that given week, you've got to step it up in practice. It keeps everybody honest."

Last year's team of Cox, Blake, Barber and Simmons finished fourth at the NCAA outdoor championships.

This year, the team of Simmons, Blake, Barber and Cox won Big Tens; Blake, Cox, Barber and Fawn Dorr took fifth at the NCAA indoor championships to account for the only time the team didn't finish first.

And Blake, Barber, Hunter and Cox combined to win the Penn Relays last weekend for the first time in school history.

"We take a lot of pride in the four-by-four," Blake said. "That's a big deal. It's one of the most exciting events other than the short sprints. ... Let's be honest, people come to meets to see who the fastest person is."

Blake said that Johnson occasionally will tip off the four participants of the 1,600-meter relay team before traveling if he is asked. More often than not, though, guessing which four Penn State sprinters will run on the relay waits.

And that's fine with Johnson.

"It's always gonna be a game-time decision," he said. "We'll make the decision when it's best for the team, not when it's best for them."