The meet in New York will feature some of the top track teams in the country, such as the University of Connecticut and Villanova University. The distance medley relay team will consist of Megan Krumpoch '14 on the 400-meter leg, Christina Supino '12 on the 800-meter leg, Alexi Pappas '12 on the 1,200-meter leg and Abbey D'Agostino '14 anchoring on the 1,600-meter leg. The squad will be aiming to run under 11:03.50 in the event, the automatic qualifying time for the NCAA championships in March. Supino said the team is well-positioned to achieve its goal.
"It's one of the biggest indoor track events in the country," Supino said. "We looked at it on paper, and we're pretty close [to qualifying], if not there. Abbey has the No. 1 mile time in the country, so we couldn't have a better anchor." The foursome will return Saturday to cheer on their team at the Dartmouth Indoor Classic. Many Big Green athletes who have already qualified for later season meets will be sitting out, including the DMR team. Some Dartmouth stars however, such as co-captain Connor Reilly '13, are slated to compete, and Supino noted that the throwing events will be good events to watch at the meet.
"The throwing events will be awesome this weekend," Supino said.
Many of the athletes who are not competing this weekend will look to rest up for the Valentine's Invitational next week and the Heptagonal Championships at the end of February. Despite missing several members, the team is excited for its final meet of the indoor season.
"It's our last home meet of the season, so everyone who's running in it is getting really excited," Supino said. "It's going to be a lot of fun to watch."
The Classic will feature strong teams from the area, and there will be a heightened sense of competition as the Big Green athletes attempt to improve their marks enough to compete at later season meets such as Valentine's and Heps.
"[The University of New Hampshire] and [the University of Vermont] are going to be there," Supino said. "It's going to be really great competition and the people who do really well get to go on to the [Valentine's Invitational]."
Both teams have progressed well over the course of the season, with each racking up several first-place finishes in meets this season. The women also have two individuals in line to qualify for NCAAs. D'Agostino's time of 4:38.54 in the mile qualified her automatically, while Pappas' time of 9:13.65 in the 3,000-meter run ranks her ninth in the NCAA in 2012.
"Both teams are progressing pretty well, and the women's team is really taking off," Supino said. "Seeing all that success has made everyone work a lot harder and a lot of good things are happening so the team has reached another level."
The team has been able to cope with the winter term's abbreviated structure, which can be a struggle with several meets in a short time period.
"Indoors is such a short season so for [our success] to happen so quickly is nice to see," Supino said. "It's midterms, people are tired, its cold outside, but we've been adjusting to that, and I think people will perform well for the meet."
