The Dartmouth men's and women's track teams will have their hands full this Carnival weekend hosting a 4-way meet in Leverone Field House.
The team will face Brown University, University of Maine and Brandeis University in the most important warmup for the Hepatagonal Championships, which will be held in two weeks.
This weekend promises to be a tight contest for the favorites, Dartmouth and Brown.
"I think the teams match up pretty well on the men's side," Brown's head Coach Bob Raffenberg said. "They've beaten us and we've beaten them."
Raffenberg said Dartmouth's strengths lay in the throws and pole vault. He hopes his team will take the sprints and the hurdles.
"Dartmouth is deeper in the middle distances but our top people should be competitive," he said.
Brown's standouts will be Mike Lynch in the high jump and Daniel Goldblatt in the 55 meter dash.
On the women's side, Raffenberg is confident that his team will perform well against the Big Green.
"We are the defending Heptagonal champions indoor and outdoor," Raffenberg said .
Dartmouth standouts Kristen Cobb '95 and Maribel Sanchez '96 will need big races to upset the Brown squad.
"Our team is strong in the sprints and the jumps, while Dartmouth excels in the distance events and the the throws," he said.
"Your top people would really have to perform well to pull off the upset."
Both Brandeis and Maine will enter the competition as underdogs to Dartmouth and Brown.
"We're the spoiler," Maine Assistant track coach Rolland Ranson said. "We are a young team with only a handful of individuals that can match up with the stronger schools."
"Our depth in some of the events may be a factor in how Dartmouth and Brown finish this meet," he added.
Ranson expects Maine's strongest events to be the 55 meter dash, the jumps and the pole vault.
"The Maine women's team is extremely young and lacks depth and experience," Rolland said.
But Maine's Kim Doucette should be a factor in the sprints.
Brandeis, a Division III school, didn't schedule this meet as part of its original schedule.
"We found this meet," Brandeis head women's Coach Mark Reytblat said. "It's a pleasure to make it."
Brandeis is preparing to defend its fifth consecutive indoor divisional championship.
