The Dartmouth men's track team had another solid performance to help start a potentially strong season, beating Brown University and Harvard University Saturday. But the women, unable to physically complete some events because of sickness, fell to both Brown and Harvard .
The men scored 85 points against Brown's 63 and Harvard's 57 in a decisive victory which will hopefully foretell what lies ahead for the Big Green this spring.
Heath Tiberio '95 took second place in the javelin throw in his first competition of the year with a toss of over 180 feet.
The men captured three of the top four places in the shot put competition. Adam Nelson '97 won with a throw of 55 feet, while Co-captain Kurt Cohen '94 took second and Dave Erikson '96 placed fourth.
"Most of the people on the team get motivated to beat the other Ivies," Cohen said. "Great performances early in the meet motivate the athletes in later events to compete well."
The Big Green took the top three spots in the discus competition. Gerry Lamontagne '94 won with a distance of 175 feet. After a week of indoor practices, the throw was his best of the season and only a foot off his personal best. Nelson and Alex Ghanotakis '97 each threw their personal best, taking second and third respectively.
On the track, Sam Wilbur '94 won the 3000 meter Steeplechase with a time of 8:58. Aaron Bouplon '95 finished eighteen seconds later to place second and Jack Dwyer '96 came in fourth.
Bill Thibault '94 won the 1500 meter run in 4:01, while Ryan Donovan '96 took third. Aaron Culliney '96 placed first with a time of 1:53 in the 800 meter run and Brian Barry '96 placed third in the same event. Geoff Zawtocki '94 ran the 400 meter in a time of 48.9 to win the race, while in the 5000 meter competition Ted Fitzpatrick '95 and Co-captain Derek West placed second and third, respectively.
"I think the win shows that we should be right in the thick of things at Heps this year, and also shows that we could possibly win the New England Championships," West said. "Things are looking good for us right now. We are excited and ready to go."
Things did not go quite as well for the women, many of whom were sick for the meet. The team felt the brunt of the sicknesses especially in their distance runners, who usually lead the team winnings. Kristin Cobb '95, the only distance runner to complete an event, took second in the 1500 meter race.
In the field events, Marianne Chamberlin '94 took second in the hammer throw with a score of 144.7 feet. Allison Thompson '94 placed third and Stacey Briere '97 came in fourth.
Amy Winchester '96 won the shot put with a throw of 45.1 feet with Shoemaker and Thompson placing second and fourth, respectively.
Winchester recorded her second win of the day in the javelin competition and Sarah Howled '96 took third.
Thompson finished her day with a 138 foot victory throw in the discus event.
"I don't feel like our performances were indicative of our abilities," Co-captain Candice Shoemaker '94 said. "We are not discouraged."
At the Tufts Invitational meet last weekend, the Dartmouth teams combined for eight victories, five of which came from a healthy women's squad.
Wayne Burell '97 won the 400 meter race in 57.06, Wilbur took 9:13.64 to win the steeplechase and Nelson won the shot-put with a distance of 57-4 1/4 feet.
In the women's running events, Rieper won the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 15.62 and Cobb won the 3,000 meter run in 10:03.6.
Field event victories included Chamberlain's hammer throw of 159-1, Shoemaker's shot-put of 45-10 and a discus throw of 129-7 from Thompson.
The teams have strong goals for this season. The women will look to improve upon their fifth place finish at the Heps last year.
"The women will also have several athletes challenging to win individual Ivy titles," Coach Barry Harwick said. "The men will try to win New England championships and place in the top three at Heps."
This Saturday the men's team challenges the University of Vermont and the women have a duel meet at home against UVM and the University of New Hampshire at 1 p.m.
