Men's track and field head coach Barry Harwick '77 was pleased that the Big Green track program was able to put together a solid all-around effort.
"I was very pleased with the meet as a whole," Harwick said. "It's difficult because you have to wear many hats in this meet. You have to work as a meet administrator and make sure that our guys are doing what they are supposed to be doing. The meet was later in the year this year so we were able to get more guys into the lineup, which was great."
On the men's side, the 3,000m run was the most successful event of the day, with Dartmouth taking six of the first 10 spots as Harry Norton '08 led the way with a time of eight minutes and 26.27 seconds. Mike Carmody '08 also had an impressive first-place win in the 800m run with a time of 1:52.21 and co-captain Charlie Stoebe '08 ran a 51.07 for second place in the 400m dash. In the field, Ted Lesher '10 took the triple jump crown with a leap of 44-11, while Tyler Koskenoja '07 cleared 6-04 in the high jump for third place. Tim Wunderlich '09 came in second in the heptathlon with 4706 points.
"We've been under a heavy training load right now," distance runner Grant Allen '08 said, commenting on the outstanding performances of fellow cross-country co-captain Norton. "Later in the season, we'll scale back our workouts so the investment will pay off then. Norton ran an exceptional time for the amount of training we've been doing."
Missing from the lineup this weekend, however, was the team's star hurdler, Peter Pidermann '10. Pidermann, who underwent surgery on his foot this past December, will most likely remain injured throughout the team's winter season. Patrick Dooley '08 and Tom Robbins '11, both distance runners, were also missing from the lineup. Harwick hopes the two will be available later in the season.
For Dartmouth's women's team, it was the field event athletes who stole the show. Co-captain Emily Daly '08 took third place in the weight throw and fifth place in the shotput. In the jumps, Natalie Todd-Zebell '09 came in fourth in the pole vault after clearing 11-06.25, and Micaela Carwell '08 jumped 16-11.25, coming in second in the long jump. Sarah Klassen '10 jumped 5-04.25 in the high jump to earn a four-way tie for third.
On the track, co-captain Victoria Michelotti '08 led the squad, coming in fifth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.60.
On Saturday, the Dartmouth Relays also hosted over 1,000 high school athletes. Harwick touched on the impact the meet has on recruiting.
"It's huge for us," Harwick said. "They get to see a well-run meet and see our beautiful facilities. We got most of our recruits this year in early decision, but when we start recruiting some of the juniors that came, they'll already have a good first impression of our program."
Looking forward to the rest of the winter season, Allen discussed the work that lies ahead for the team.
"Personally, I want to dial up the intensity of the workouts and get to the halfway point of races faster," Allen said. "For me and the team, it's important to get in good shape and get [personal records] at the Boston University meets, because a PR there usually means that you will perform well at Heptagonals."
Both men's and women's track and field will be back in action when Dartmouth hosts the teams from Yale and Columbia on Jan. 19. The Big Green defeated Columbia and lost to Yale in 2007.
