The men's track team is in the midst of a brutal triple -- three championship meets in three weeks.
After a strong performance at the Heptagonal championships last weekend, the men dominated the New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Memorial Stadium this weekend.
It was not the individual performances that won it for Dartmouth this weekend -- it was their depth.
Of 40 schools, the Big Green contingent was the largest and the deepest, and came out on top with 145 points. Their nearest competitor, Rhode Island, managed a mere 85 points,and only two other teams scored 50 points or more.
"It's great for the seniors to go out from the New England Championships this way," Captain Kurt Cohen '94 said. "It will definitely boost the program for the younger athletes to win a championship meet, continuing the Dartmouth tradition."
Despite what the score might suggest, Dartmouth didn't even win a single event on the track.
The Big Green's best event was the 500-meter run, in which they took second through fourth places.
Sam Wilbur '94 finished in 14 minutes, 37.97 seconds, followed by Ted Fitzpatrick '95 in 14:39.84 and Aaron Bouplon '95 in 14:46.14.
Wilbur is almost guaranteed making the NCAA championship meet, with several other members of the team knocking on the door.
In the 10,000-meter run, Dartmouth duplicated its success by taking third through fifth. Jeremie Perry '96 finished in 31 minutes, 24.49 seconds.
One of the Big Green's best races was the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, where Wayne Burwell '97 took fourth, but it was not his place, but his time, 53.84 seconds, which qualified him for next weekend's IC4As.
The 4x400 relay was perhaps the most exciting race of the meet. Dartmouth powered its way into second place with a time of 3 minutes, 18.01 seconds, behind Rhode Island's 3:17.58. The Big Green was the leader of a pack of four schools that finished within eight-tenths of a second of one another.
On the field, Dartmouth's competition seemed to find it impossible to compete. The meet was marked not only by high finishes, but personal best performances, especially by the Big Green's freshmen.
In the high jump, Steve Clark '97 cleared 6-9 to beat his nearest competitor by two inches.
Lane Burks '97 finished second in the triple jump with a 47-5.75 and sixth in the long jump with a jump of 22-7.75.
Alex Ghanotakis '97 threw 165-3 in the discus, a personal best by over eight feet, which won him third place.
But the freshmen were led by Adam Nelson, who had personal bests in both the shot put and discus. In the discus, his 165-3 earned him second place, and his 58-1 throw in the shot put not only won the event, but made him a provisional qualifier for the NCAA meet.
Dartmouth's freshmen decathletes took third and fifth places.
Gordon Spaeth '97 had 5,746 points and Dan Neiderjohn '97 had 4,862. Tom McClure '96 came in fourth with 5,358 points.
The seniors also did their part to push Dartmouth to victory. Gerry LaMontagne '94 won the discus with a 171-5 and placed fifth in the shot put with a 49-2.5.
Dan Heinhold '94 took sixth in the pole vault with a vault of 15-3.
Senior Ken Forester rounded out the field events, placing tenth in the javelin with a throw of 167-9.
"The team has been working very hard all season. It really comes down to a championship meet like this," Cohen said. "It's nice to continue the Dartmouth tradition at our own facility. It will really be a boost going into next weekend."
After the strong performances of the last two weeks, Dartmouth looks to do well at next weekend's IC4As at George Mason University in Virginia.
The Big Green are also looking to place several competitors into NCAA qualifying spots.
