Picture this — a bunch of restless spectators huddled idly by a storage shed just to partially stay out of the rain, athletes huddled in packs trying to deflect the chilling winds and very few content faces. The Marquette Twilight track meet happened last weekend, but with the weather conditions on Saturday, it certainly wasn't easy and was anything but ideal.

The day started in the 70's but quickly dropped to the 40's by 1 p.m., the time the meet was scheduled to start. It felt much colder than that. Lightning storms delayed competition for a while, but things eventually got under way. And despite the dreary conditions, the Marquette track team put together a solid performance.

"Definitely the weather had a big impact on the meet itself," coach Bert Rogers said. "For most of the meet, the issue became more the cold and wind rather than the rain. But nobody was complaining about anything; we still had the fire in our eyes. We buckled down and got after it and competed pretty well."

Senior Scott Mueller put in a hard day's work with a second place finish in the 1,500-meters and a victory in the 5,000-meters. While the weather seemed to bother just about everyone, Mueller made the best of his situation and excelled.

"As long as you accept that you're not going to get a fast time per se, and just move and race hard, then that's fine," he said. "So for me, it didn't have that much of an effect at all. I think a lot of people let it get in their head and kind of mess up their race, so you need to take it as it comes and go out there and compete no matter what."

Another highlight of the day for the Golden Eagles was the stand-out performances of the throwers on both men's and women's sides. The team got off to a good start with the first event of the day, the men's javelin, which was won by sophomore Jonathan Kusowski with a throw of 50.97 meters. The women's side nabbed the top three places in the javelin, with Kelley Magennis' 40.09-meter toss taking first. Senior Jessica Ehlen took first place in the hammer throw and also took fourth in the discus.

To no one's surprise, junior Erynn James once again won the high jump with a leap of 1.62-meters, a full tenth higher than her nearest competitor. Plagued by a series of injuries over her Marquette career, she was quick to admit her hesitation competing in the weather.

"Last time I jumped in the rain I slipped, so I get really scared about jumping in rainy weather," James said. "It made me really nervous. I was just happy to get a warm-up in before next week."

Also turning in victories for the Golden Eagles were Katlin Millin in the 400-meters, Nick Byom in the high jump, and Shawn McLarney in the long jump. Freshman Jenny Zahn won the 400-meter hurdles, but finished just shy of a Big East mark. Competing unattached, former Marquette athlete Eric Matuszewski won the shot put.

It's now crunch time for the Golden Eagles, who face the pressure of next weekend's Big East Championships along with the stresses of final exams. The week will serve as a tune-up for Marquette, getting ready for the big stage on Villanova's campus.

"Our expectations are what they always are: We want to perform to our capabilities," Rogers said. "If we do that, team scoring will take care of itself."