This is the first time since 2003 that the Big Green men (3-0, 2-0 Ivy) have won the meet, which has been held annually for the past 10 years, according to men's head coach Barry Harwick.
"It was something I reminded our guys about during the team meeting yesterday," he said. "It was certainly gratifying to win and win decisively."
While there were many good performances by Big Green runners, the highlight of the meet came on the throwing end, when David Irving '11 set a personal record in the weight throw with a toss of 18.71 meters.
"He did a tremendous job at [the weight throw]," Harwick said. "That was very satisfying for Dave, and I was very happy about it."
Matthew Miner '12 also turned in a good performance, placing second in the 1000-meter run. Miner missed nearly all of last season after suffering from numerous injuries including stress fractures in both feet, which made it impossible for him to even walk, Harwick said.
The team is laden with veteran talent, but rookie runners have also contributed a great deal this year. On Saturday, Robert Folk '13 won the pole vault, Connor Reilly '13 finished first in the 60-meter dash and Adam Doherty '13 posted the fastest time in the mile.
It is still early in the season, but the Big Green hopes this victory will act as a springboard for future success.
"I'm very encouraged," Harwick said. "Last year we made a lot of progress from indoor to outdoor and I feel that we are continuing that progress right now."
The women's team (1-2, 0-2 Ivy) finished in last place out of the three teams present, but head coach Sandy Ford-Centonze said she remains optimistic.
"I would say that the young ladies ran well," she said. "We scored in every event we entered, so I think overall it was a good day."
Despite posting 16 top-three finishes in the meet, the Dartmouth women's squad only took first place in two events. Emmaline Berg '13 had the longest toss of the day in the shot-put and Kaitlyn D'Orazio '13 led the field in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.22.
The Big Green was in second place going into the final event of the day, the 4x400-meter relay, but led Yale by one point, effectively making the last event a race for second place.
"In track and field, that's always an exciting thing to happen," Ford-Centonze said. "When it comes down to [the 4x400 meter relay], it's really the culmination of the whole day of competition."
In the end, however, Yale pulled out the victory and the Dartmouth women finished in third overall.
Since the Big Green's goal was not to place high but to compete hard against league opponents, the meet was a success in this regard, according to Ford-Centoze.
"This was a meet where we were focused on competition," she said. "That's what the girls did across the board."
The end of the indoor season will feature more competition among the Ancient Eight, including the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, which will be held at Leverone Field House.
"I would say the two favorites are probably Cornell and Princeton," Harwick said. "I feel we match up quite well with everyone else."
Both teams have a week of practice before competing in their next meet, the Terrier Classic, held at Boston University. This is one of the largest track and field events in the country, Harwick said, and it will likely provide tough competition. The women will run on Friday, while the men take to the track on Saturday.
At the Classic last year, the Big Green men's team compiled several top finishes, especially in the longer events, including seventh place in the 1000-meter run by Alex Hall '10 as well as seventh in the 3000-meter run by multi-sport standout Ben True '08, who graduated last year. John Schroeder '10 and Chris Zablocki '10 picked up 10th and 11th places, respectively, in the 5000-meter run.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team also placed well, coming in eighth out of 31 teams.
The women's team, on the other hand, was strongest in the field events at the 2009 Terrier Classic. The presence of Emily Daly '09 will be missed this season, as she placed seventh both in the shot-put and in the weight throw last year. Natalie Todd-Zebell '09 also achieved an impressive finish, with second place in the pole vault.
The next-best showing for Dartmouth last year, however, came from a returning athlete Alex Tanner '11 who snagged 12th place in the 400-meter dash.
"Teams will be coming in from all over to run [in the Terrier Classic], so the quality of competition will be quite high," Harwick said.
