The track teams of Dartmouth College returned to the familiar oval of Leverone after a one-week hiatus from the dome. The men and women followed last week's tri-meet by dominating Saturday at the Dartmouth Invitational. Combined, the two teams won more than half of the events, the men taking 11 of 16 while the women won nine of 17.
The men were anchored by the performances of twin brothers Ahmad and Mustafa Abdur-Rahim '04, who won three events between them. Ahmad led the way, winning the 400 in 50.79 and taking the long jump with a leap of 21-10 1/4.
"[My performance] was consistent. That's a good sign. Technically I did what I needed to do."
Mustafa took the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.25, outpacing teammate Chris Dupre '06, who took second in 8.69 seconds. The duo was almost more than a second ahead of the third.
Adam Levy '07 won his first collegiate meet in only his third try, running a 1:57.72 800m. He was followed closely by teammate Pat Martha '05 who turned in a 1:58.01. Rabbited by Danny Obaseki '07, Levy turned in a solid time, yet looks to hit the IC4A qualifying standard of 1:54.40.
"I've got a lot of work cut out for me this season if I want to hit the time for the 800, but my [personal record] is faster than that and hopefully things will start coming together."
Dartmouth took all the throwing and jumping events; Rob Kerris '07 in the shot put and Marcus Gregg '05 in the weight throw, while Ahmad's long jump win was complemented by Ikechi Ogbonna '06 in the triple jump and Dupre in the high jump. Kerris, who threw 50-4 1/4, won for the second straight week.
"My performance was a bit disappointing for me. I feel that I could have jumped further. Considering that I've only practiced jumping three times this season, [coach] feels that I have room for improvement. I was hoping for 44 feet and I jumped 43'7," so I just missed my goal," Ogbonna said.
Other winners on the men's side included Andy Hamilton '04 in the 500m and Devin Riley '07 in the 1000m and 4x400 relay team.
Dual winner Margaret Smith '07, who won both the 400m and the 60m hurdles, headlined the women. The freshman was pleased in her first collegiate victory, but expects more of herself.
"I was happy to come in first but am still looking to continually decrease in the 400. That hurdle time was not my best, but it felt like a pretty smooth race."
Smith also ran a leg of the victorious 4 x 400 relay team.
The women had a stranglehold on the jumping events as well, winning the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. Kelsey Wiegmann '06, the school record holder in the high jump, won easily, followed by four teammates, as Dartmouth took all five top spots in the competition.
Kate Adams '04 and Lily Bertz '07 took first and second respectively in the pole vault with jumps of 11-6 1/4 and 11-0 1/4.
"I felt good about my performance. I tied my personal record, which is solid. I had hoped to clear 12 feet, but there is always next weekend! I have my eye on the school record of 12 feet six inches, but I am still a little ways from that," Adams said.
Mattie Chatterton-Richmond '06 continued her strong start to the year, winning the long jump with a leap of 17-6 3/4. Well short of her winning mark last week, it was still enough to prevail. Close behind her was teammate Wiegmann with a mark of 17-02 1/4. The final jumping event, the triple jump, was taken by Nadine Parris '06 with a jump of 37-0 1/2.
Also victorious were Lydia Blandy '06, 2:17.77 in the 800 and Megan Olds '06, who ran a 2:56.46 in the 1,000.
"Lydia Blandy was amazing! She got her [personal record] for the year in the 800 thus far and had a tremendous kick in the last 100. She beat a girl who had run the mile in a 4:58, which shows great capability in the 800 as well," Margaret Smith said.
Dartmouth is back in action this coming weekend, competing at the Terrier Classic at Boston University.
