The Wildcats got off to a fast start in their 2003 indoor track and field season when they traveled to the Penn State Invitational Jan. 18. Although the meet was just a preliminary warm-up for ’Nova’s squad, several men came away with top honors.

Individually, junior Carlos Bedoya finished first in the 200-meter dash in 21.51 seconds, while classmate Paul Moser won the 400-meter dash in 1:02.17.

Returning to the track this season as reigning NCAA indoor champs, ’Nova’s distance medley relay team proved that it is still tops the competition, taking the race in 9:54.6. Running on the relay team were juniors Jason Jabaut, Ryan Hayden, Michael Botti and senior Pat Hickey.

Bedoya and Moser teamed up once again, this time with fellow junior Dan Marzluff and senior Nic O’Brien, and racked up yet another win in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:12.35.

Despite not running the team in its entirety, the coaching staff was pleased with the results of the men’s first go on the track. “It was actually a really good meet for our team,” assistant coach Scott Tantino said. “We had a couple of key victories.”

With their early success in tow, the men are making their second trip to University Park, Pa. to compete in the Penn State’s second invitational of the indoor season.

Competition in the two-day meet begins today and will provide the ’Cats with another chance to prove their dominance in the track and field community.

While the majority of the men battle it out with the likes of the Nittany Lions and others, four members of the men’s squad are making the trip up north to compete in the prestigious Adidas Boston Games. The Feb. 1 international meet is one of the highest-touted meets in the professional indoor track and field circuit and will be at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College. Head coach Marcus O’Sullivan and his staff are sending the DMR four-man squad in hopes to run a qualifying time for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Senior Tom Parlapiano, Jabaut, Hayden and O’Brien will compose the quartet attempting to topple top-ranked Arkansas and Michigan’s squads, the other top collegiate competition in Boston Saturday.

“It should be one of the premier meets of the season,” Tantino explained. Although in the face of such intense competition, ’Nova is still prepared to run its own race and is ready to set the standards high for the 2003 indoor track and field season.