Leading the way for the Big Green was Brett Gilson '13, who finished second place in the decathlon behind Cornell's Josh Kirkpatrick. Gilson entered the second day of competition only 216 points behind Kirkpatrick, but was unable to make up ground on the final day despite finishing first in two of the final four events, winning the pole vault with a height of 4.53 meters and the 1,500-meter run in 4:35.82.
Fellow underclassman Connor Reilly '13 also contributed to Dartmouth's point total with a third place finish in the 100-meter dash. Reilly, who was favored to win the event, finished with a time of 10.74 a collegiate best for the freshmen sprinter.
The Big Green also received key contributions from several upperclassmen. Captain Ted Lesher '10 finished his Ivy career with a second place finish in the long jump with a leap of 24'7.7", only 1'25" behind Kirkpatrick. The jump was a collegiate best for the Big Green captain and was also the second highest mark reached in Dartmouth history. Lesher finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15:21 and fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 15'15", helping to collect points for the Big Green.
"I was really happy with how I did in the long jump I was really close to first place," Lesher said. "In general, I think the team has done very well this season, a lot of freshmen stepped up, especially at Heps. I think we definitely had a good season."
Other highlights from the men's action on Sunday included a fifth place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by Phil Royer '13 with a time of 9:05.19.
Brad Kenimer '12 finished the 5000-meter event in 14:26.90, resulting in a fourth place finish for the sophomore. Kenimer's performance was impressive as he finished just over two seconds behind Princeton University's Mark Amirault, who won the event with a time of 14:24.74.
In field events, Chris Roe '11 finished second in the javelin throw with 60.73 meters a personal best for the season. David Irving '11 also had a strong showing and finished his weekend with a seventh place toss of the discus at 48.76 meters.
Overall, the team was disappointed with its result, as it was looking to improve on the third place finish in the Indoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championships it had in February, head coach Barry Harwick said.
"I thought we had some great individual performances," Harwick said. "As far as the team performance went, well, we caught a few bad breaks on Sunday, so we ended up in fifth place, which was on the disappointing side."
Additionally, several members of the Big Green earned individual honors following their performances this weekend. Lesher, Roe and Gilson all earned second team All-Ivy honors after finishing second in their respective events.
Dartmouth will send several of its athletes to the regional tournament at the end of this month. The official list of participants is not released until next week, but the Big Green is still optimistic.
"The top 48 performers in each event will go to the regional tournament," Lesher said. "I am confident we will be sending more athletes than last year."
The men's track team will see action this Friday in its second-to-last meet of the season when the team travels back to Princeton, N.J., for the IC4A Championships.
