With the team huddled round to cheer and the meet tied at 85 senior pole vaulter Scott Shimooka came through and cleared 15'9", guaranteeing the points necessary for Dartmouth to defend its New England Championship crown and commencing a team celebration, a victory lap, and the dunking of Coach Barry Harwick.
Shimooka's clearance was good for fifth place, bringing Dartmouth's point total to 87, two more than second place Brown. "It was good to come through for the team," Shimooka said. "It was great to jump with so much support."
Dartmouth's 87 points came from victories in four events, and timely scoring from three others.
Sam Wilbur '94 won the 10,000 meters in 29:14.74, a personal best, an NCAA qualifying time and a meet record, surpassing the effort of Jim Sapienza in 1983.Kai Richter '95 finished second in 30.39.15, a personal best. Wilbur, who will compete in the 5,000 meters and the steeplechase at the NCAA Championships later this season said, "I just wanted to run hard in the race and make it a good workout ... in the last mile I realized I had a shot at Sap's record so I really concentrated to keep it going.I had never broken 30 [minutes] before, and I am psyched with the time."
In the 5,000 meters Aaron Bouplon '95 came through with the victory, outsprinting Boston's University's Dave Ward over the last 200 meters for the victory. Bouplon finished a little more than one second ahead, in a time of 14:18.90. Chris Langan '96 finished sixth, claiming a useful point in 14:50.
Off the track, Adam Nelson '97 got nearer the elusive 60 foot barrier in the shot put, winning with a toss of 59' 1/4". Dave Erikson '96 brought home third. Nelson also finished second in the discus, falling eight feet behind Alex Ghanotakis who won with a toss of 169'1".
High jumper Steve Clark '97 came second clearing 6'9". Other points came from Tim Farrell '96 who took sixth in the 800 meters, and from Shimooka.
The women competed this weekend at Holy Cross and finished 12th, while leaving a large number of athletes in Hanover. Coach Sandra Ford-Centonze said that the athletes who had already qualified for the upcoming championships stayed at home. "We wanted to give them a weekend off."For other athletes the meet was a last chance to qualify.
Karen Rieper '94 finished third in the long jump, which qualifies her to compete in next weekend's ECAC championships. Emily Hodgson '98 placed fourth in the 3,000 meters, and Helene Sisti '96 finished fifth in the 400 hurdles.
Ford-Centonze was not sure if Rieper will go to the ECAC's.Rieper has suffered through an Achilles injury which has stopped her from defended her pentathlon title at the Heptagonal Championships earlier this year.
The women move on to the ECAC Championships next weekend at George Mason University. Ford-Centonze said she expects a good performance at the Easterns. Dartmouth boasts a number of regionally ranked athletes.