The men’s and women’s track and field teams broke two more school records this weekend at Boston University’s Valentine Invitational.
For the first time this year, a sprinter set a new Dartmouth record as Kaitlin Whitehorn ’16 broke the Dartmouth record in the 60-meter dash with her time of 7.60 seconds, ahead of the 7.64 record set last season by Mollie Gribbin ’16, who transferred to the University of Nebraska this year.
Will Geoghegan ’14 put his name on the record boards for the third time this season, this time in the 3,000-meter run. His time of 7:51.57 broke the 29-year-old record of 7:54.60 set by Jim Sapienza ’85. His time earned him second in the event, falling to Harvard University senior Maksim Korolev by .05 seconds.
“For Will the race was set up perfectly,” head coach Barry Harwick said. “Someone took the first mile very quickly, and he was able to run one of the fastest times in the country this year.”
Three more Dartmouth runners came close to breaking a four-minute mile. John Bleday ’14 and Steve Mangan ’14 both improved on their times from last week, respectively running 4:00.69 and 4:00.86. Tim Gorman ’16 was also close to the elusive mark, finishing in 4:01.64. Geoghegan is the only Dartmouth runner who was able to run sub-four so far this indoor season.
“John and Steve are very close to breaking four minutes, but people don’t realize how hard it is,” Harwick said. “These times are what happens when a group of people are running well.”
Other highlights on the men’s side included Alex Frye ’17 clearing 2 meters in the high jump for a fifth-place finish. Another freshman, Phil Gomez ’17, had a strong performance in the 500-meter race, grabbing a time of 1:05.06. Josh Cyphers ’14 was strong in the pole vault clearing 4.8 meters for second place.
Whitehorn’s performance led the women Friday. This is her first season competing in the 60-meter dash for the Big Green.
“My coach is good at recognizing your potential even if you don’t recognize it yourself,” Whitehorn said. “I thought it was a good idea since I don’t really know what I am capable of, and it all came together Friday.”
She also finished second in the high jump Friday, which was first among Ivy competitors, when she cleared 1.75 meters. Whitehorn, the defending Ivy champion in the high jump, said she is working on her approach and form, trying to break habits from middle and high school.
Other noteworthy performances on the women’s side included a second-place finish by Megan Krumpoch ’14 in the 500-meter race with a time of 1:13.59. Emmaline Berg ’13 threw 13.85 meters in the shot put, coming in fourth place.
Dana Giordano ’16 ran 9:16.78 in the 3,000-meter run, a personal best and good enough for eighth place overall. Giordano was working toward a 9:20-time to seed her in the fast heat at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.
“It felt pretty good, and I just tried to hold on,” Giordano said. “My coach thought the time was manageable, but I still thought it was surprising.”
The new school records this week were the fifth and sixth records broken by track runners this season. Giordano said students have begun to notice the team’s success.
“Everyone is running really hard, and we’re happy it is paying off,” Giordano said. “We are getting a lot of attention from people not on the team. Everyone is getting excited for Heps, and hopefully we won’t have to advertise too much.”
The teams travel to New York next Sunday for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
