The holiday weekend was witness to another decisive victory by the men's and women's track and field teams of Dartmouth College. Hosting the universities of New Hampshire and Vermont on the rubber track and Astroturf fields of Leverone Field House, the Big Green proved itself the greatest track program within, at minimum, a 100-mile radius of Hanover.
The men's team easily won the triple meet, accruing 158 points throughout the weekend's events. UNH was second place, earning 138 points, and Vermont was conspicuously third, with 53 points overall.
Dartmouth's throwers quashed the competition, as seniors Matt Brown '05 and Mike Mozer '05 took first in the shot put and weight throw, respectively.
Also in the field, freshman pole-vaulter Derrick Vinklarek '08 soared over the competition to 14-0 feet, and Brian McCarthy '05 won the high jump and triple jump. In the sprints, Brian Evans '08 won the 60-meter dash in 7.09 and Charlie Stoebe '08 clocked a 1:06.14 in the 500.
Perhaps one of the best men's performances of the day came from senior Quinn Thomas '05, who ran to victory in the mile with an IC4A-qualifying time of 4:11.24. He attributed his race to an evenhanded strategy and the rabbit-work of a freshman teammate, Ben Marcotte '08.
"Overall, the team atmosphere was exciting," said Thomas. "There was a ton of team and fan support during my race."
Also for the distance squad, Noah Kaufman '05 won the 3000 in 8:39 and Mike Carmody '08 won the 1000 in an IC4A-qualifying time of 2:28.78.
The atmosphere was no less intense for the women's team and perhaps contributed to some of the outstanding performances of the day. The ladies took first with an even more decisive 156 points, followed by New Hampshire's score of 97 and Vermont's 91.
Tessa Clare '05 set the tone for the Big Green women, taking the 200-meter dash in 27.08 and the high jump at 5-2 . However, like any veteran leader, her focus fell not on the individual accolades but on her impact on the rest of the squad.
"Yesterday was a great day for our team," Clare said. "Everyone competed well and the energy was incredible. You could really see how the success of one person was feeding into the success of the next."
That success coursed through Dartmouth's distance runners, which garnered Big Green victories in the 800-meter, 1000-meter, mile and 3000-meter events. Megan Olds '06 led a one-two-three Dartmouth sweep in the mile, and seniors Betsy Williamson '05 and Julian Mastroianni '05 led the way in the 800- and 3000-meter runs, respectively.
The women's sprints and jumps also saw success as Lilly Bertz '07 placed first in the pole vault, Micaela Carwell '07 won the long jump and freshman Cassandre Tanner '08 grabbed the triple jump. Robin Bankert '08 won the 500 in 1:09.67 and Lili Peacock-Villada '05 took the 1000 in 2:59.1.
All in all, it was a great weekend for Dartmouth track and field, which hopes to continue its winning ways against Ivy League rivals Yale and Columbia, again in Hanover's own Leverone Field House.
