"It was a beautiful day for victory," Brett Gilson '13 said. "Every time I turned around, someone on our team was winning something. It was a very proud feeling because a lot of our Dartmouth peers came out and watched us crush the events."
The Big Green men ran away with the win after five first-place finishes in field events and four in running events. On the field, three freshmen earned first-place finishes. Sam Yoder '15 placed first in high jump with a jump of 2.03 meters. Jacob Neumann '15 threw the discus 44.69 meters and Thomas Servino '15 tossed the hammer 53.90 meters to earn their places at the top of the podium.
Other first-place finishes on the field came from pole vaulter Josh Cyphers '14, who cleared 4.40 meters, and from Gilson, who threw the javelin 64.29 meters for a personal best.
"To be honest, I felt like a boss because all my buddies came out to watch me throw and were yelling at me to chuck the [javelin] super far," Gilson said. "On my first throw, that's exactly what I did. I kind of surprised myself a little, but now I feel confident and strong and ready to take my success to bigger and better competitions."
The Dartmouth men proved to be just as strong on the track despite strong winds throughout the day. Connor Reilly '13 led the team, earning first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.93 seconds. Brett Buskey '15 came away with the win in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.18 seconds. Joseph Woiwode '14 ran the 800-meter dash in a time of 1:55.47 to best his opponents. Finally, the Big Green 4x400-meter relay team wrapped up the meet with a 3:20.22 finish from Jalil Bishop '14, Jonathan Brady '14, Kevin Crowley '13 and Evan Bryant '12.
Weather conditions had no effect on the runners, according to Gilson,
"Wind ain't no thing," Gilson said. "The men run well no matter the conditions."
The Dartmouth women's team prevailed over its opponents as well, securing 12 first-place finishes, six of which came on the track while the other six came on the field. Kristel Esrtella '15 ran away from the competition, winning both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes with times of 13.20 and 26.49, respectively.
Sophomores dominated the rest of the running events. Megan Krumpoch '14 beat her opponents, running the 400-meter dash in a time of 57.17 seconds. Arianna Vailas '14 finished the 800-meter dash in 2:11.55 for a come-from-behind win, and Katelyn Walker '14 won the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:34.89.
The Big Green women finished the meet with a strong 4x400-meter relay performance. Christina Supino '12, Katrina Cord '15, Naomi Stahl '12 and Krumpoch finished in first place with a time of 3:54.64.
On the field, Cara Vernacchia '13 led the team with two first-place finishes in the long jump and triple jump, reaching 5.58 meters and 11.27 meters, respectively.
"I think last weekend gave us all a bit more confidence going into the next few weeks," Vernacchia said. "The jumpers have been working incredibly hard, and we had some great practices last week leading up to the meet. We all had some great jumps and great parts of jumps, so it's just a matter of time before everything clicks. I think we have a great chance of jumpers placing at [the Heptagonal Championships] this year."
In the pole vaulting competition, Karla Verkouw '13 vaulted 3.55 meters to secure first place. Dartmouth throwers also fared well in the meet. Emmaline Berg '13 threw the shot put 13.67 meters for first, while Christina Alexander '11 threw the discus 45.11 meters for the title. Cathy Liebowitz '15 finished in first place in the hammer throw, tossing it 48.19 meters.
"There were a lot of season and personal bests last weekend, and it was wonderful to see all the hard work pay off," Vernacchia said. "Plus, at this point in the season, we are still focusing on technique work as opposed to hitting great marks."
The Big Green will be back in action this week at the Mt. Sac Relays in California and at the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton, N.J. Dartmouth distance runners, who did not compete at the home meet this past weekend, will be the focus of these events.
On the men's side, John Bleday '14 and Brad Kenimer '12 will compete in the 5,000-meter race, while Jonathan Gault '13 and Ethan Shaw '12 will take part in the 10,000-meter run. On the women's side, Alexi Pappas '12 will race in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Abbey D'Agostino '14 in the 5,000-meter run, Caitie Meyer '14 in the 10,000-meter run and Supino in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs.
"I expect to run against really strong competition and hopefully get a time that allows me to be at the NCAA Regional meet and be competitive with some of the top times in the country," Bleday said. "Going into Heps with a fast time will give me confidence, especially if it's faster than my competition."
Gault is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
