The men's squad was ranked third with a combined grade point average of 3.230, and the women's team held the eighteenth highest team grade point average at 3.290.
"This is what we, as coaches, hope and strive for," women's track and field coach Sandra Ford-Centonze said. "I feel that Dartmouth and the rest of our Ivy counterparts are great models for what student-athletes are and should be."
Ford-Centonze explained that the ranking was something that the whole team could be proud of.
"One of the most rewarding aspects is that this is an all-inclusive honor, not just for select individuals," Ford-Centonze said.
The Association also recognized four Dartmouth athletes for outstanding academic achievements.
Harry Norton '08 had a stellar year in both track and field and cross country. Norton qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship in the 1,500 meter race. He was also a competitor on Dartmouth's cross country team when it won the 2005 Heptagonal championships title.
Melanie Schorr '06 was honored with the NCAA post-graduate scholarship, one of only 12 Ivy League students to receive this honor in the past three years. This was added to the All-America honors in cross country that she earned last fall. Schorr finished first in the 5,000-meter run at the Heptagonal championships.
Tara McNerney '09 was also honored by the Association for her performance both on and off the track. Her 5'9.25' high jump this year narrowly missed the Big Green record, which stands at 5'10". In addition, McNerney finished first at the New England Championship in the high jump and helped the women's team to a third place finish.
The men's team was not without its stand-out student athletes as well. Fatih Stanley '06 was a first team All-Ivy honoree and also earned Academic All-Ivy honors in June. He was distinguished after a spectacular performance in this year's Heptagonal Outdoor Championships. Stanley became the first Dartmouth male to win both the Ivy League 100 and 200 meter dashes. The sprinter is the first Big Green athlete to win the 200-meter dash at the Heptagonals and the first Dartmouth male athlete in 44 years to win the 100-meter dash. He set school records in both.
The track and field teams' recognition follows Dartmouth's ranking of 67th in the U.S. Sports Academy Director's Cup. The cup, developed by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today, allots points based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports -- 10 women's and 10 men's.
Dartmouth finished third in the Ivy League with 232.5 points, close behind Cornell at 241 points, and a bit more behind Princeton, which finished in 47th place. The Big Green won 45 of their points in the spring with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship.
First place in the U.S. Sports Academy Director's Cup went to Stanford for the twelfth year running. Stanford finished with 1,197.375 points, beating second-place UCLA by 126.
