Thrower David Irving '11 could be described as the track and field version of the Renaissance man. Regularly competing in multiple events at meets, the team co-captain earned top-three finishes in three competitions at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships last weekend, providing a microcosm of a season in which he has broadly excelled.
Irving secured third place in both the shot put and the discus, throwing distances of 16.61 meters and 51.90 meters, respectively, and finished second in the hammer with a mark of 60.39 meters at the season-closer competition.
"Not many athletes can do all three of those events," head coach Barry Harwick said. "It's tough, but Dave wanted to help out the team."
The performance, which Harwick called "impressive," was one of the highlights in Dartmouth's sixth-place overall finish at the Heptagonal Championships.
Irving earned Second Team All-Ivy honors when the Ivy awards were announced on Monday for his performance in the hammer event. Despite a seventh-place finish in last year's Heptagonal Championships' discus toss event with an impressive distance of 48.76 meters, Irving did not receive an All-Ivy nod in 2010.
Irving said the Heptagonal Championships is one of his favorite meets, due to the scope and amicably-competitive nature of the event.
"It's the way track should be," he said. "There is a bond shared by Ivy League student athletes. The tradition brings us together."
Irving's talents have proven multi-faceted in his four years at the College. While Harwick called Irving, who is 6'8", "an impressive physical specimen," he noted that the thrower studies the sport. Irving works hard at weightlifting and training, but he also watches videos that teach him how to perform better at his craft.
Harwick said Irving is one of the most dedicated athletes on the team, and leads by example as co-captain.
"[He is] a great competitor who really wants to do well," Harwick said. "He is arguably hardest working athlete on the team and people respect him for that."
Irving said he fell in love with Dartmouth on his official recruiting visit with the team.
"The people, the team and the tradition of excellence meant a lot to me," he said. "I am so blessed to have been part of the team that has such a tradition of excellence, especially in throwing."
Irving said that despite the tremendous time he devotes to perfecting his skills, the sport does not consume his life. He is a student-captain of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth Law Journal and a member of Beta Alpha Omega fraternity.
Irving is also a student pastoral assistant at the First Congressional Church in Woodstock, Vt., and he plans to train to become a pastor at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss., after graduating from the College.
"I have a lot of respect for him for doing what means something to him," Harwick said. "I think it speaks to his character."
Irving said he is confident about his chances of success at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America competition at Princeton University this weekend. Irving added that he hopes to achieve personal bests in three events including the discus which he has struggled with at times this season.
Irving said he has found difficulties with some of the technical aspects of the discus event, but he will continue to try to overcome his problems for what will likely be one of the last meets of his college career.
"It's all about being disciplined with my technique," he said.
