Several of Dartmouth's top athletes traveled to Greensboro, N.C., to compete in the NCAA Track and Field East Regional Meet, looking to end their season on the right note -- or continue on to the national meet with a great performance.
Ben True '08 continued to dominate in the 1500 and his second-place finish earned him a chance to compete on the national stage. Teammate Kelsey Wiegmann '06 finished well enough in the high jump and javelin to garner at-large consideration for the national meet.
Fatih Stanley '06 capped off a strong season with another record-setting run.
True took second in the 1500 with a 3:49.66 run, closing with a blisteringly fast final lap in 54 seconds to finish just a tenth of a second after Florida's Shane Stroup. True's finish automatically qualifies him for competition in the national meet, held June 7-10 at the State University of California at Sacramento. True will be running in the 1500 preliminaries on June 8.
"Ben True ran another great race in the finals of the 1500," men's head coach Barry Harwick '77 said. "The pace was very slow in a tactical race. He ran his last 400 in 54.0; that is incredibly fast."
True's latest run continues an impressive season in which he claimed the Ivy title in the 1500 and defended his New England regional title in the event. True also anchored a record-setting distance medley relay earlier in the season with a 3:57 run.
Stanley broke his own record in the 100 with a 10.57 sprint but his school-best time was only good enough for 13th in what Harwick calls the "toughest region in the country."
The sprinter also ran in the 200, clocking in at 21.54 seconds to finish 18th.
Stanley said he felt comfortable with his 100-meter time. "I had been waiting for this chance for a very long time and I was not disappointed," he said. "I gave it my best and I was happy with the results.
"I know I am getting faster with every race and my time of 10.57 proves this," Stanley added.
The graduating senior is planning to run unattached this summer in order to further improve his times.
Stanley has had a phenomenal season, continually improving his times to the point where he won both the 100 and 200 at the Heptagonal Championships. He set school records in both events and became Dartmouth's first 200 winner ever and first 100 winner in nearly 45 years.
Wiegmann, the Ivy champion in the javelin, capped off her collegiate career by finishing ninth in the event with a 146'9" throw and eighth in the high jump with a 5'9 1/4" clearance.
Tara McNerney '09 finished 11th in the event, clearing 5'7 1/4".
"The competition at the meet was incredible and it was such an honor to be among those athletes, competing against the some of the best in the country," Wiegmann said of the regional meet. "I was really happy to end my collegiate career with a good jump in the high jump."
Wiegmann's finishes will earn her at-large consideration for the national meet, though her chances are slim. Final at-large bids will be decided on Tuesday.
Two other athletes also finished for Dartmouth at the regional meet.
Jamila Smith '06 took 16th in the shot put with a 46' throw to finish her season while Ikechi Ogbonna '06 ran a 14.30 110-meter hurdles to finish 27th.
