Dartmouth secured its first-ever individual national title in women's track and field when Abbey D'Agostino '14 edged Megan Goethals of the University of Washington by three hundredths of a second on Saturday to win the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. D'Agostino, improved on her third place finish from 2011 to be crowned a national champion.
D'Agostino took the lead from the University of Colorado's Jessica Tebo with 300 meters to go and had a lead of about eight meters entering the home stretch. D'Agostino began to visibly tire at that point, and she drifted out to the second lane as Goethals began to gain on her. But when Goethals pulled even with D'Agostino with approximately 20 meters to go, D'Agostino dug deep and held off her opponent to win her first national title.
D'Agostino's winning time of 16:11.34 was well off her personal best of 15:23.25 due to a slow first mile and temperatures on the track approaching 90 degrees at race time. The title was the latest accomplishment in one of the best years ever for a Big Green athlete. Her victory garnered her All-American honors for the fourth time this year, and last month D'Agostino won the Class of 1976 award, given to Dartmouth's most outstanding female athlete.
While a Dartmouth woman had never won an individual championship in track and field before this season, D'Agostino's title was also the first for either the men's or the women's teams since 1997, when Adam Nelson '97 won the shot put.
Along with D'Agostino's performance, Dartmouth also received a strong finish from senior Alexi Pappas '12, who finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday night. Pappas ran 10:01.20 to finish behind Colorado's Shalaya Kipp, who won the race in 9:49.02, and the University of Florida's Genevieve LaCazel, who finished in 9:50.25. Pappas' finish ensured that she, like D'Agostino, earned First Team All-American honors.
With their performances, Pappas and D'Agostino not only cemented their legacies in Dartmouth athletics but also helped deliver Dartmouth's best team performance at the outdoor championships in history. Thanks to the 10 points earned by D'Agostino and the six earned by Pappas, Dartmouth finished 14th at the championships with sixteen points, ahead of traditional powers such as the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Arkansas. The result was significantly better than Dartmouth's previous best finish, when the Big Green placed 27th in 1991.
While Pappas may have run her last race at Dartmouth, her athletic career is far from over. Both she and D'Agostino will compete at the United States Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon June 21-July1. From there, Pappas, who has an extra year of eligibility, will compete for the University of Oregon next season, while D'Agostino still has two years remaining in what is already the greatest career in Dartmouth women's track and field history.
