The Dartmouth men's and women's track and field teams will each send five members to compete at the NCAA Regional Meet at the University of North Florida, which will run from Thursday to Saturday. The best runners and throwers from across the East Coast will have a chance to advance to the NCAA Championships at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on June 6-9.
On the men's side, Ethan Shaw '12 will compete in the 10,000-meter run because of his 11th-ranked time of 29:17.89. Henry Sterling '14 will run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after his time of 9:00.63 earned him 36th in the field. Steve Mangan '14 will go into the 1,500-meter run with the 38th best time in the East with a time of 3:45.36.
"Personally, I think I'm feeling good," Mangan said. "The season's flown by, but now that we're here, I'm pretty excited to go out and do what I've been looking forward to for a year now against some of the best guys in the country."
John Bleday '14 will run in the 5,000-meter run with a qualifying time of 14:07.89. The Big Green will also have one thrower in the field, as Brett Gilson '13 will compete in the javelin throw after earning a 38th-best qualifying distance.
"We try not to change much," Shaw said. "We have faced good competition all year long, so we're trying to go into it like we go into every race."
Shaw is the only Big Green athlete to be returning to the regional meet from last season, advancing to the national meet in 2011. Shaw is optimistic about his prospects of returning to Iowa this July, which will require a top-12 finish at regionals.
"There's a lot of good people here, and it's always fun to compete against some of the best people in the country, and we have that opportunity, so I'm looking to finish in the top 12 to make it to nationals," Shaw said. "Hopefully I can get there and do well."
While the improvement in the Ivy League may have made for more difficult races during the season, Mangan said that these races will prove to be beneficial this weekend.
"One of the good things this year is that Ivy League track and field has gotten really strong, so for all the people here at Regionals, we're ready for it," he said.
One concern for the Big Green runners is the Florida weather, as the athletes will have to transition from running in high-70s weather in Hanover to the low-90s heat in Jacksonville, Fla.
"It's going to be really hot, but my race is short, so it won't affect me too much," Mangan said.
Shaw's race is quite a bit longer, but he also said that the weather will not matter a great deal.
"It could be a factor, but in the end, the best runners will move on, so if I have my day, I think I'll be alright," he said.
The women's team will have Abbey D'Agostino '14 competing in the 5,000-meter run with a qualifying time of 15:23.35, the top mark among her competitors and the second-fastest 5K time in the country. Alexi Pappas '12 has the third-best time in the East in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, posting a Dartmouth record of 9:58.07 earlier this year.
Christina Supino '12 and Arianna Vailas '14 both had good enough times to earn spots in the 1,500-meter race. Rounding out the field for the women is Cathy Liebowitz '15, who will be one of the 48 throwers in the hammer throw, thanks to a top throw of 55.73 meters.
The Big Green women will have experience on their side when they attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet, as four out of the five East Regional participants were present at Regionals last year, with only Liebowitz competing for the first time.
