From the get-go until the final race ended, the Penn State men's indoor track team completely dominated the competition last Saturday at the USTCA Series Meet in the Multi-Sport Facility.

"It was a resounding success," Penn State's co-captain Derby said, " ... when you are having fun, things go your way." At their first scored meet of the season, the Nittany Lions (2-0) finished first with a total of 170 points, ahead of Cornell who was second with 111.50. Third place was Rutgers with 84 points. Throughout the meet the Lions were ahead of the rest of the field.

A first-place finish in an event counts for ten points, while second is worth eight and third six. Also, every single athlete in the event can score.

"We did decent," Derby said, "even though we are still missing some people like Ernie Terrell."

A first-place finish for the Lions came from senior Chavous Nichols, who set a new Penn State triple jump record with a leap of 16.17 meters, which was one inch shy of an automatic NCAA qualifying mark, but was good enough for a provisional mark. He also finished third in the long jump.

"If you stay relaxed and have fun, everything will be fine" Nichols said.

Other first places for the Lions were senior Ian Hahn in the 1-mile run with a time of 4:11.76, sophomore Matt Lincoln in the 1,000-meter run in a time of 2:26.45, pole vaulter Nick Fegley won his event with a pole vault of 4.95 meters. The 4-by-800-meter relay team also came in first with a time of 7:42.6.

The Lions also had six second-place finishes and five third-place finishes. One of those second place finishes was Terrell with a time of 1:02.75 in the 500 meter run, which was two hundredths of a second off the Penn State record. First place went to Villanova's Paul Moser with a time of 1:02.17, a new track record.

"We are always trying to gage our season," Penn State's men's track and field coach Harry Groves said.

"This is a good start for us. It gives you a good indication of where you might go."

Such a convincing win at a competitive meet also gives some confidence to a very youthful team.

"Our victory here is a really solid victory and it gives everyone confidence," Derby said.

The Lions also showed their versatility, showing that they are strong in both of the field and track events.

"As a team, I think we did really well," sophomore Chris Lolagne said. "You really can't pinpoint in a specific area."

Though the margin of victory was not as high as the same meet last year, which Penn State also won, the Lions felt that their domination was a statement to the teams in the Big Ten.

"We are always out to set a statement and show what we can do," Nichols said.

He also added that compared to last year's team, this team was much stronger and faster.

With four meets before the Big Ten Indoor Track Championship, the Lions have lots of time to show that they are a better team.