The Dartmouth men's and women's cross country teams have performed at a high level thus far, with a combined five first-place team finishes thus far this season. Both team's will look to continue their success this weekend when they travel to the pinnacle of Ivy League cross country, the Heptagonal Championships.
The men's team began its season with a first place finish at the Dartmouth Invitational, scoring a five-point victory over Ivy competitor Yale University. The Big Green was led by top finisher Ethan Shaw '12 with a time of 25:28.50 and Phil Royer '13, who came in seven seconds later for the third-place spot.
Three weeks later, Shaw and Royer helped their team to a fourth place finish at the Paul Short Invitational. The Dartmouth team finished ahead of four other Ivies, while only losing to three nationally ranked teams.
The Big Green then continued its success with a first place finish at the Keene Invitational. Jake Shoemaker '12, finishing in first place with a time of 26:01, was the first of eight Dartmouth athletes to finish within the top nine spots. The Big Green dominated the competition, completing the meet 52 points ahead of the second-place finisher.
The Dartmouth runners nabbed yet another first place honor at the New England Championship this fall. The Big Green narrowly beat Boston University with a 138-140 win, despite not having six of its top seven athletes run at the meet. Tom Robbins '11 led the team by finishing fifth overall, with a time of 24:36.
The subsequent NCAA Pre-Meet provided the team the opportunity to run with some of the highest ranked competition in the nation. Royer finished first for the Big Green with a time of 24:16.6, capturing 36th place overall. With the help of strong finishes from the other team members, Dartmouth was able to finish in 12th place, beating out large universities such as Ohio State University, Illinois University and Michigan State University.
In the team's last performance, Dartmouth finished fourth in the Mayor's Cup, despite resting its top runners in preparation for the upcoming Heptagonals. Dartmouth runners Steve Mangan '14, Shoemaker, and Mike Danaher '13 finished in the 22nd, 25th, and 28th spots, respectively.
The women's team also got off to a strong start with a win at home in the Dartmouth Invitational. Amy Schuman '12 finished first overall with a time of 20:23:90 followed by teammate Lizzie Short '12, who finished in ninth place with a time of 20:45.94. The Big Green's win was the first for head coach Sandy Ford-Centonze since her return to cross country and the first for Mark Coogan, the new assistant head coach.
Following the Invitational, three Dartmouth freshmen led the women's team to a 16th place finish at the Paul Short Run. Hannah Rowe '14 was the first Dartmouth woman to complete the race, while Bridget End '14 and Arianna Vailas '14 followed.
Dartmouth was back on top at the Keene Invitational, finishing in first place and capturing five of the top seven places. Katelyn Walker '14 finished second overall, followed by Andrea Imhof '11, Katie Sullivan '13 and Melanie Wilcox '13, rounding out the top five.
The Big Green tied for sixth place at the New England Championships a week later with 221 points. Walker was, once again, the top finisher for Dartmouth, coming in 27th overall.
At the NCAA Pre-Meet, freshmen Walker, Roe and End represented Dartmouth as well. The freshman class claimed three of Dartmouth's top five finishers. The other placers were Shuman and Short. The women ran to a 35th place finish at the meet.
The Dartmouth team's most recent race was the Mayor's Cup, where the team finished in eighth place. Many of the top performers rested during this race in order to prepare for Heptagonals, but Melanie Wilcox '13 finished first for the Big Green.
Both the men's and the women's teams will compete in the Ivy Heptagonal Championships this Friday in New York City. Last year the Dartmouth men placed third out of eight, while the Dartmouth women placed sixth of eight.
Both teams will run against other Ivy competitors and will attempt to use the momentum from previous wins in the season to be successful at this weekend's race.
