D'Agostino said she was thrilled to have achieved the milestone so early in the season.
"It was especially fun to have run it at home," she said. "Hearing people cheer around the entire track and having Lex [captain Alexi Pappas '12] there to work with made it that much more exciting, too." Pappas finished right behind D'Agostino and turned in the third fastest time in school history. She was followed in third by another Dartmouth runner, Katelyn Walker '14, to complete a 10-point gain for the team.
On the men's side, the Big Green edged Columbia by just two points, winning 62-60, and defeated Yale handily, 62-46. A long list of individual accomplishments also accompanied the group success.
A pair of freshmen, Grant Sparling '15 and Sam Yoder '15 finished first and second, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles. Connor Reilly '13, Tyrone DeSpenza '13 and Brett Buskey '15 had a similar sweep of the top spots in the 60-meter dash.
Yoder also placed first in the high jump, once again followed closely by two teammates, Jeremy Birck '15 in second and Ben Nollet '14 in third.
Dom Filiano '14 won the shot put for the third time in as many meets by two feet over his nearest competitor, fellow Dartmouth thrower Tom Vorhies '13.
Head coach Barry Harwick said one of the team's strengths is that "we have a well balanced team this year with the ability to score points in both track events and field events."
This depth is what has allowed the Big Green to remain so competitive this season, winning points from a variety of different disciplines and even from multiple competitors in the same race.
The women's team won in an even more dominating fashion, scoring 74 points compared with Columbia's 63 and Yale's 41. Women's head coach and men's assistant coach Sandy Ford-Centonze said she enjoyed the opportunity to "beat two league foes and get a sense of where we were in the league."
Megan Kurmpoch '14 claimed her third consecutive victory in the 400-meter dash, while Meggie Donovan '15 took home first in the 500-meter dash. Arianna Vailas '14 won the 800-meter run. The Big Green also dominated the distance events, gaining wins in the 1,000-meter run from senior Christina Supino '12 and in the 3,000-meter run from junior Katie Sullivan '13.
The relay teams also had impressive finishes, with the 4x800-meter relay team cruising to an 18-second victory and the 4x400-meter relay team finishing in second.
Not to be outdone by the runners, the Dartmouth throwers also put up impressive results. Cathy Leibowitz '15 took first place in the weight throw and Emmaline Berg '13 won the shot put, beating out teammate Corrine Kominkiewicz '14 by over a foot.
Both coaches and players alike attributed some of this early success to a new commitment to harder training and focus in the offseason, which can be especially difficult given the fact that winter break occurs just before the start of the season. Ford-Centonze suggested that the strong start was due in part to the fact that "everybody took their break seriously in terms of training."
Krumpoch agreed, saying that "people have been taking training and preseason more seriously," which helped put them in position for such a fast start.
"Doing these workouts with my teammates and coach really have helped me get the most out of my training," D'Agostino said.
Despite the early success, nobody appears willing to get complacent and let his or her effort level slip. The team members all mentioned an ongoing season focus toward lowering times and qualifying for ECACs and Heptagonal Championships.
The very nature of track and field creates a constant incentive to improve on a week-to-week basis, and both teams are focused on maintaining a steady progression to the championship meets at the end of the season, especially the team Heptagonal Championships.
Even D'Agostino said she is putting her impressive performance in the rearview mirror and is focused on improving her times in other events. She noted that the most exciting race for which to qualify would be the distance medley relay, a unique team event in a sport often focused on individual achievements. D'Agostino places much of the credit for her success on her teammates, who pushed her in practice to reach her full potential.
"I think one of the most important contributors to team success is encouraging one another to excel personally," she said.
All players interviewed agreed that being able to start the season with three home meets was a significant advantage. Ford-Centonze said it is always helpful for the athletes to "sleep in their own beds, eat in the dining hall, get to the meet an hour ahead and not have to worry about everything else."
Krumpoch also suggested that there is a home track advantage during the actual competitions.
"Home meets are a lot of fun because of the fans, and the pressure to not let anyone beat us in our own house," she said. "The combination of the familiarity of being on your own campus and having the extra fan support provided a significant boost to the team."
Both teams will look to continue their strong performances in their first away action of the year when they travel to Boston University on Friday for the Terrier Classic.
