The gun went off, and Abbey D’Agostino ’14 shot to the front of the pack. Less then one lap in, she cleared the field, going on to win the women’s 1,000-meter race in 2:46.88, over seven seconds ahead of the second-place Columbia University runner. Overall, the Big Green women came in second in the Ivy League tri-meet Saturday at Leverone Field House, while the men easily took home first.
For the women, Columbia took home the top spot with 72 points, the Big Green women brought home 56 and Yale University amassed 52 points to come in third. The Big Green men also hosted an Ivy tri-meet, which they won with 75 points. The Lions finished in distant second with 47 points, and the Bulldogs brought up the rear with 35.
Many of the Big Green women were hampered by injuries and illnesses during the meet, as some of their regular athletes did not compete.
“People are on the mend, and I think that it was a good time to hone that competitive instinct for our team because at Heps, that’s what it will come down to,” Meggie Donovan ’15 said.
In addition to running in the 1,000-meter race, D’Agostino teamed up with Alison Lanois ’15, Dana Giordano ’16 and Donovan for the 4x800-meter relay. At the time of the race, the Big Green trailed the Lions and needed to pick up points.
“All the girls did their part,” Donovan said. “It was about being patient and picking people off. We were coming from the back but we all worked together and Abbey did her thing at the end.”
Entering the final leg, D’Agostino trailed Columbia junior Madeline Rathbun, but she closed the gap to give the Big Green a .02-second victory.
“I love running in relays, and it’s not very often I get to run the 4x800 so to get to do this on our home track was great,” D’Agostino said. “People were yelling at me, and I had no choice but to beat her.”
Donovan also recorded a win in the 800-meter run, with a .05-second victory over Yale sophomore Shannon McDonnell. Arianna Vailas ’14 finished third and Giordano fourth.
Kaitlin Whitehorn ’16 won the high jump, clearing 1.64 meters, and Emmaline Berg ’13 earned five points toward the team score with her first-place toss in the shot put.
The men’s team earned its victory with strong performances across the board. Big Green men finished one-two in the 400-meter race, the mile, 60-meter hurdles and the shot put. Edward Wagner ’16 and Jalil Bishop ‘14 took the top two spots in the 400-meter event, separated by .3 seconds. Tim Gorman ’16 and Henry Sterling ’14, who claimed the top two spots in the mile, also finished neck and neck, with Gorman coming out on top at 4:11.93 and Sterling finishing in 4:12.07. Danny Katz ’16 and Alex Frye ’17 claimed eight points for Dartmouth with their top two finishes of 8.36 and 8.60, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles. Two freshmen, Jonathan Beering ’17 and Tim Brennan ’17, took the top two spots in the shot put.
Another freshman added to the Big Green’s victories when Phil Gomez ’17 won the 500-meter run in 1:05.80. Gomez also teamed up with Bishop, Jonathan Brady ’14 and Wagner to win the final event, the 4x400-meter relay. The race was tight, with Wagner finishing .11 seconds in front of Yale’s anchor junior William Rowe.
The final individual victory for the Dartmouth men in a running event was by Joey Chapin ’16 in the 3,000-meter run. In the field events, Josh Cyphers ’14 won the pole vault and TJ Servino ’15 won the weight throw.
Both men and women will compete at Boston University’s Terrier Invitational and the Donahue Classic in Boston. The meet at BU is an individual contest, while the Donahue meet is a team competition.
In Boston, distance runners will focus on recording fast times to qualify for faster sections at the upcoming Ivy Heptagonal Championships.
“We don’t have very many opportunities to run for speed, so we’re going to try to PR,” Giordano said.
