A week after the indoor season ended, the Dartmouth men's and women's track and field teams escaped Hanover's unreliable early spring weather to train and compete against some of the nation's top programs in the balmy Carolinas.
The team began with the Shamrock Invitational in Myrtle Beach, S.C. March 15-17 and then sent split squads to the Weems Baskin Invitational in Columbia, S.C. and the High Point VertKlasse Meeting in High Point, N.C. on March 24.
"Going south for a training trip is a great opportunity to improve for the season," thrower Jake Neumann '15 said. "You can focus solely on athletics without any school work, and you have incredible weather for training. You can really make big strides when your training is your only focus."
Despite the caliber of competition and intensity of the team's training blocks, the Big Green still mustered success. The highlight of the Shamrock Invitational was a second-place finish from Janae Dunchack '14 in the women's heptathlon.
"While we trained hard on the non-competition days, the competition days put us up against some of the top athletes in the country," Neumann said. "There were even a couple athletes who had qualified to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London."
Dunchack finished the multi-day event with 4,741 points. Abby Kacsandi of Ashland University won the event with 4,929 points. Priscilla Trojano '12 was ninth with 4,295 points and Lauren Ready '15 took 19th with 3,912 points.
Other highlights included a 12th-place showing from Christina Alexander '11 in the hammer throw with a distance of 151'1".
In the pole vault, Karla Verkouw '13 cleared 10'11.75" on her second attempt, earning her 13th place.
Berkeley Hall '14 finished 28th in the long jump with a jump of 16'4.5", her second attempt of the day.
On March 17, the Dartmouth women finished up competition, led by strong performances from a trio of athletes in the discus throw.
Emmaline Berg '13 led the way for Dartmouth, claiming seventh place (135'5") in a competitive field of over 70 athletes. Corrine Kominkiewicz '14 finished just behind Berg in 10th place with a throw of 133'10". Following her good result in the hammer throw the previous day, Alexander built on her success with a 16th-place showing (129'5").
The trio carried its good vibes to the shot put, as Alexander (43'9.25") placed 12th, immediately followed by Berg (43'7") in 13th. Kominkiewicz took 18th with a toss of 42'11".
"The more meets we get with talented competitors, the better," Berg said. "I feel it brings out the best in everyone and it prepares you for the championship season later on."
The 4x100-meter relay team also competed, placing 24th with a time of 50.30 seconds.
In the men's events at the Shamrock Invitational, the Big Green's top finisher was Jeremy Birck '15, who cleared 6'4.75" in the high jump to take eighth place overall.
In the 400-meter dash, Evan Bryant '12 and Jalil Bishop '14 took 33rd and 34th, respectively, separated by a mere two-hundredths of a second. Bryant crossed the line in 49.94 seconds, while Bishop finished in 49.96 seconds.
Chris Pullerits '15 ran an impressive 400-meter hurdles race, finishing with a time of 55.49 seconds, good for 16th place in a field of nearly 70 runners.
Tyrone DeSpenza '13 and Connor Reilly '13 led the Big Green in the 200 meters. In a massive field of 109 runners, DeSpenza took 30th in 22.16 seconds; Reilly finished close behind in 34th place in 22.21 seconds.
Josh Cyphers '14 was 14th in the pole vault, clearing 14'7.25" on his first attempt.
After a week of nonstop training including several three-a-day sessions, the Big Green returned to competition, sending athletes to both the Weems Baskin Invitiational in Columbia, S.C. and the High Point VertKlasse Meeting in High Point, N.C.
At the Baskin Invitational, three Dartmouth sprinters ran personal records in the 200-meter dash.
Reilly finished 12th overall but won his heat in 21.80 seconds despite mistakenly warming up for an earlier heat. Brett Buskey '15 also won his heat in a time of 22.03 seconds, good for 15th place overall. DeSpenza was close behind, finishing 16th overall in 22.04 seconds.
In the field events, Brett Gilson '13 placed fifth in the javelin with a throw of 191'1". Cyphers cleared 14'4.25" in the pole vault, good enough for seventh place in the overall standings.
A small group of distance runners traveled with head coach Barry Harwick to the High Point Meeting. Henry Sterling '14 placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:18.98, narrowly missing his personal record in the event.
In the 5,000-meter run, Matt Miner '12 claimed fourth place in a field of 26 runners with a time of 15:15.94.
Among the women competing at the Baskin Invitational, Megan Krumpoch '14 led the way for Dartmouth with a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:02.73.
Alexander took 10th place in the hammer throw with a toss of 157'2".
On Saturday afternoon, thunderstorms moved in, canceling the remainder of events at the Baskin Invitational for both the men and women.
Overall, Dartmouth's athletes said they feel they improved because of the trip.
"We definitely worked hard during the trip," Berg said. "We did significantly more throwing than we would during a normal practice at school and were able to practice outside, which is great to prep for the season. We also did beach workouts, which help tone muscles we don't usually have the opportunity to work on."
After a weekend off from competition, the Big Green will return to the track April 6-7 at the Sam Howell Invitational, hosted by Princeton University.
