In the previous few weeks, members of the Big Green track squads noted that the IC4A and ECAC championships for men and women respectively were merely meets to showcase individual talent rather than team efforts. This past weekend at George Mason Universtiy in Fairfax, Va., nobody did more to deserve the individual spotlight than the Big Green's decathalete, Greg Johnston '99.
Johnston broke free from the pack on Thursday afternoon by capturing four of the day's five events and used a strong effort on Friday to seal the victory for the Big Green with a school-record effort. It would be the only event either the Dartmouth men or women would capture over the weekend as the teams were unable to build on the strong performances at the New England Championships a week before.
Thursday got off to a quick start for Johnston as he broke out of the starting blocks to record a victory in the 100m, the opening of the 10-event decathalon, with a time of 11.08 seconds. Johnston was not done on the track, also bringing home a victory in the 400m with a time of 50.33.
The field events, more specifically the jumping, were just as pleasing for the junior decathalete. He captured the high jump with a jump of six feet, eight inches and then left the rest of the field behind in the long jump, recording a jump of 23.5 feet into the sand.Johnston's only loss on the first afternoon came in the shotput, where he finished second overall, giving him a strong lead heading into the second day.
As it turns out, Johnston may not have needed that lead, as he posted victories in bot the 110m hurdles and the long-distance event, the 1500m. Johnston was assured the victory after picking up second-place in the javelin toss. Johnston finished with a Big Green record 7,358 points.
The victory allowed Johnston to provisionally qualify for the NCAA championships, but he will have to wait until the decathalon field is announced. Sixteen decathaletes will participate in the championships, and Johnston is currently seeded 16th. He should know his fate after the Big 10 championships conclude this coming weekend.
Johnston was not the only Big Green member with a strong performance in the decathalon. Sophomore Adam Horst finished eighth with 6,288 points.
