The meet, commonly known as Heps, is the culminating event of the indoor season for the Ivy League, with all eight schools squaring off against each other. Aside from two invitational meets that take place next week, the IC4A for men and the ECAC for women, the Heps Championship will be the last meet for the Big Green's indoor track season.
"At our first team meeting of the season, we talk about Heps," men's head coach Barry Harwick said, describing the meet's importance. "We expect everyone to give their best performances of the season at Heps."
The Dartmouth men hope to amass some points in the heptathlon from Tyler Koskenoja '07 and Tim Wunderlich '09. Both Wunderlich and Koskenoja have made the Dartmouth all-time list for their scores in the heptathlon. Koskenoja has excelled at Heps in the past, scoring points in the decathlon.
For the men's middle distance track events, Dartmouth is expected to find the most success with Harry Norton '08 in the mile and with Trevor Middleton '09 in the 800-meter. Norton has scored on three occasions at Heps. For sprints, Charlie Stoebe '08, who has scored at indoor Heps, is a favorite in the 500-meter.
In the field events, the Dartmouth men's best contenders are Randy McKnight '08 in jumps and Rob Kerris '07 in throws. McKnight has experience in all of the Heps jumping events. Kerris has a history of success at Heps at both shot put and the discus and is expected to continue to excel in the throwing events.
Cornell won the men's meet last year. Coach Harwick believes that the Big Red are still the team to beat in the Ivy League. Last year, the Dartmouth men finished sixth at Heps.
The Dartmouth women are not expecting to win the meet, though they are anticipating success in many individual events.
"Our depth is not as great as we would like it to be," women's head coach Sandy Ford-Centonze said. "I would like to see us somewhere in the middle, to give the team a realistic area to shoot for. I am looking to see successes among individuals, hitting [personal records]."
"We are in a very competitive league," Ford-Centonze added. "You can put us up against any other."
Dartmouth women to watch include Tara McNerney '09 in the high jump. Natalie Todd-Zebell '09 and Lilly Bertz '07 both are predicted to be competing for points in the pole vault. Karen Woolley '09 is projected to be a legitimate contender in the pentathlon. Woolley won the heptathlon at the New England Championship last season.
The backbone of the throwing unit, Jamila Smith '06, is expected to continue the success that she has had in past Heps. At last year's indoor Heps, Smith placed second in shot put. At the outdoor Heps last spring, Smith won the event.
"All of these athletes are ranked in the top three or four of their events," Ford-Centonze said of the Dartmouth women's top contenders.
At last year's Heps, the Dartmouth women finished seventh.
By the order of meet regulations, Dartmouth can field no more than 33 athletes on each men's and women's team. No more than five athletes on one team can compete in the same event. Squads typically run much larger, so the men's and women's teams had to be narrowed for the event.
The 60th Heps Indoor Championship is being held at the New York City Armory in Manhattan. The meet begins with the women's weight throw at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The first day of the meet lasts until 6:30 p.m. and the last event of the day is the 800-meter run of the women's pentathlon. The meet starts up again Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. with the 60-meter hurdles of the men's heptathlon. The meet concludes at 4:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony.
