Under crystal skies and idyllic conditions, the Dartmouth cross country teams were able to let loose at a blistering pace. Competing at the Murray Keatinge Invitational in Maine on Saturday, the men's team was victorious and the women finished third.
Dartmouth faced off against nine other Division I programs and showed they were up to the challenge. Going into the Murray Keatinge Invitational, coach Barry Harwick noted that the race "should be a good test for us."
The Dartmouth men placed four runners in the top 10 and tallied 40 points to best second place University of New Hampshire by 27 points. Texas Tech and host University of Maine followed in third and fourth places, respectively.
Steve Mucchetti '06 led the Big Green men, placing second with a time of 24 minutes and 29 seconds over the 4.97-mile course. Mucchetti's strong finishing kick helped move him into the runner-up spot, just behind former All-American Kevin Chelimo of Texas Tech University.
Muchetti was followed closely by Pat Dooley '08, Glenn Randall '09 and Matt Davis '08, who finished in seventh, eighth and 10th places, all within three seconds of each other.
"It always helps to have other Dartmouth runners near you in a race," Davis said. "A tight pack becomes even more beneficial as we get into larger races."
Dartmouth men's cross country team was ranked No. 23 in the nation this week in the NCAA Division I poll, down from its No. 17 spot of two weeks ago, but still the highest ranking member of the Ivy League.
Although Dartmouth will be competing next weekend in the open New England Championships, the top seven runners will be resting in preparation for NCAA Pre-Nationals the following week.
"I think we have some real work ahead of us before Heps, Regionals and hopefully Nationals," Davis said. "We're not yet fully prepared for those competitions, [but] we finally seem to be on the right track."
Dartmouth's women ran excellent races as well on Saturday. "Most of the girls ran a personal best yesterday," coach Maribel Souther said, thanks in part to the flat, fast course and excellent conditions.
Captain Susan Dunklee '08 started the scoring off right with an eighth place finish. Dunklee flew through the 3.1-mile course in 17 minutes and 39 seconds.
Echoing the men's results, the women's top finisher was followed closely by a pack of three. On Dunklee's heels were Caitlin Cunningham '09, Blair Sullivan '10 and Ali Smrcina '10, within three seconds of each other. The trio combined to capture the 22nd through 24th places.
"We pace one another, and we talk and encourage each other," Sullivan said. "Even as we were coming down the last 200 meter stretch, Caitlin told me to push it to the finish," she said.
Texas Tech won the women's race with a score of 27 points, followed by UNH with 94. Dartmouth wasn't far behind however, tallying 110 points. The women will be also be competing in the New England Championships next weekend, held in Boston's historic Van Cortland Park.
"I am sitting out my top seven this [upcoming] weekend to give the rest of the team a chance to compete," Souther said. "New Englands will have over 40 teams, which will allow the team to work on different race strategies."
Both the men's and women's teams are looking forward to the NCAA Pre Nationals, held in Indiana on Oct. 14. There, all of the Big Green's top athletes are expected to be rested and ready to roll, including Ben True '08, the team's top runner, who has been sidelined so far this season due to injury.
"The team is finally getting healthy, so I expect that our best races of the season are ahead of us," Mucchetti said.
