This weekend's Murray Keaninge Invitation pitted both Dartmouth's cross country teams against Region I rival Boston College, and both the men and women proved their claim to one of the NCAA berths by defeating BC, Saturday in Maine.
In the early season neither team seemed too well tuned with performances being less than graceful. But Saturday every team member raced up to his and her potential.
This boost in performance comes well timed as both teams enter the championship races.
For the women, Captain Maribel Sanchez '96 was edged out in the final stretch by BC's Angie Graham to finish second with a time of 17:16.
"It came down to the last thousand meters," Coach Ellen O'Neil said. "There were lots of surges, and the lead went back and forth between them. Maribel really responded but [Angie] had too much speed."
The rest of the team made absolutely sure that Graham's individual victory was the only win for BC, placing six finishers before Boston's third. The women's scoring five totaled 28, decidedly victorious over second place BC's 41 points.
The Big Green's win was not only a result of fast running, but also that of team work.
"A team wins when everyone can put it together," Sanchez said. "Every individual had a solid performance."
Solid can certainly be typified by only 19 second margin between the second and sixth runners on the team.
"It is a real powerful feeling to run with a pack like Dartmouth's," Beth Crenshaw '99 said.
It was this pack of Green that mathematically ended BC's challenge and will lead the women en route to qualifying for the NCAA's.
"We crushed BC, and that is terrific considering they are one of the teams we need to beat in order to qualify for the NCAA's," Crenshaw said.
This win should give the Dartmouth women enough confidence they need as they face the Heptagonals later this month and the ECAC's, which is the NCAA qualifying meet, in early November.
The Dartmouth men were led by Captain Jack Dwyer '96, who finished fourth overall in 24:18. Chris Langan '96 was close behind in 24:23.
The Big Green topped region opponent BC, but were unable to win the meet. They finished third behind Michigan University and William and Mary College.
The men showed the depth of their talent reaping unexpected great performances from the young freshman, Arnold Song and Don Conrad, as well as the veteran, senior Ryan Donovan.
If Dartmouth is going to have any post-season competition, it will depend on the consistence of the last five scorers.
The Big Green top five accomplished what will be needed for Dartmouth to vie for a berth in the NCAA Championships for which, the men will first have to qualify in early November at the IC4A Championships.
"This race has given us the confidence we need for the Hept's and the IC4A's," Dwyer said. "This is how we should always be running."
After competing like a disembodied entity early in the season, the men finally worked together last weekend. The results show the potential of the team, but time will tell if they can continue to be cohesive.
Each team's next event will be the New England Championships. The men compete next week, while the women will have one week off before they run again.
