It's funny how 0.13 seconds can define winning and losing.
But 0.13 seconds is a remarkable margin in track and field time; many runners have won or lost a race in less than 0.13 seconds.
At the Penn Invitational on Saturday afternoon, Dartmouth men's 4 x 400 meter relay team, made up of Mustafa Abdur-Rahim '04, Richard Cedrone '07, Charlie Stoebe '08 and Mike Carmody '08, won the race in 3:17:57, beating Cornell's 3:17:70 mark.
"The 4x400 team ran a superb race, each leg getting passed on the first turn and out-kicking their competition in the final straight away every leg to win the relay race," said senior co-captain Brian McCarthy '05.
The men's team performed well, winning several events and showing potential to win in other events. The great thing about track and field is that even if one athlete is having an off day, there is a good possibility that three others are having fast and strong days.
In the high jump, McCarthy won the event with a 6-9.75 leap. "I jumped solidly while dealing with an uneven jumping surface. I was bitter I missed the NCAA regional qualifying mark, but with my training and all else going on, jumping where I did today makes me feel confident for the weeks to come," McCarthy said of his performance.
Abdur-Rahim took first in the 110-meter hurdles in 14:54 and finished third in the long jump.
Fatih Stanley '07 was third in the men's 100-meter race while teammate Brian Evans '08 took eighth place.
In the 200-meter race, Stanley and Evans took the fourth and sixth places respectively. Meanwhile Noah Kaufman '05 won the 5000-meter run while Ian Marcus '07 and Pat Ward '05 took second and fifth places.
Grant Allen '08 and Brandon Carballo '07 finished fifth and sixth in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Teammate Randall McKnight '08 was fifth in the triple jump.
"The throwers had strong performances on Saturday," Michael Mozer '05 said. "We had three people score in the hammer and two people score in both the shot put and discus."
Robert Kerris '07 was third in both the shot put and discus throw while Matt Brown took fifth places in the same events.
In the men's hammer throw, perennial force Mozer won his event with a 170-5 throw. John Moran '05and Marcus Gregg took third and fifth places respectively.
"Mozer was disappointed with his winning throw in the hammer which shows his desire to be great. Anytime you win and want more you are a great person to have on a team," McCarthy said. "It's the spirit we look for."
Andrew Hall '05 and Cedrone took fourth places in the javelin and the 400-meter hurdles respectively.
The women's team, despite missing performances from Kelsey Wiegmann '06, who is leaving for the Mt. SAC Relays on Monday, performed well against the challenging competition.
In the women's 5000-meter run, the Lady Green had five of the top ten finishes on the day. Jillian Mastroianni '05, Kristin Ricci, Susan Abramcyzk '06, Meredith Curtis '06, and Elisa McCarthy '08 finished fifth through ninth respectively.
Pole-vaulter Lilly Bertz '07 tied for second place in her event with a 10-11.75 jump, while Margaret Smith took fifth place in the 400-meter hurdles and Lauren Moser '08 finished third in the 3000-meter steeplechase, only two seconds behind the second place finisher.
In the high jump, classmates Tessa Clare '05 and Elizabeth Chambers '05 tied for third place both jumping 5-3.
Mattahan Chatterton-Richmond '06 finished fourth in the triple jump while classmate Caitlin Corey '06 placed fifth in the javelin for Dartmouth.
Carmen Springer '07 took sixth place in the shot put and fifth in the discus throw.
The Big Green looks to break new records at the UNH meet next weekend and then returns home to host the Dartmouth Invitational.
