While most Dartmouth students enjoyed some rest and relaxation during winter break, the men’s and women’s track and field teams were hard at work training and competing this December.
Both teams began their indoor seasons at the Boston University Season Opener meet held at the BU Track & Tennis Center on Dec. 6. The non-scoring meet, which featured athletes from Harvard University, Marist College and Northeastern University, had strong finishes by several individuals from the Big Green.
On the men’s side, Phil Gomez ’17 defeated teammate Jules Hislop ’17 to win the 500m race with a time of 1:06:00, besting Hislop’s time by less than half a second. Joe Carey ’15 clocked in at 2:34.46 to earn second place in the 1000m run, while Max Cosculluela ’17 also claimed a second place finish, vaulting 14-11.50 ft/ 4.56 m.
Women’s head coach Sandra Ford-Centonze said a few female athletes were close to their personal records from last season. The women had solid finishes by Corinne Romano ’15, who placed first in the shot put with a 41-10.75 ft/12.77m throw, and Bridget Flynn ’18 who ran the mile race in 5:04.37 for a second-place finish .
“This puts many of them ahead of where they were last season,” Ford-Centonze said. “Overall, I was pleased with how everyone competed.”
The following week, the multi-event athletes took to the James W. Moore Field House in the Elm City Challenge at Southern Connecticut State University on Dec. 11 and 12 . Nico Robinson ’17 earned second place in the heptathlon with 4,871 points after earning second place in the pole vault (13-1.50 ft/4.0m), third place in the 55m hurdles (8.14) and fourth place in the 1000m run (2:55.76).
The meet showcased the improvement that both he and his teammates have made, Robinson said.
“It’s great to do a heptathlon so early in the season,” he said. “It identified my stronger and weaker events so I can strengthen those and bolster my score.”
In the pentathlon, the Big Green had a strong showing in the nine-woman event. Allison Frantz ’18 finished first with 3,659 points after winning the 55m hurdles (8.40s), 800m run (2:25.75) and the high jump (5-8.0 ft/1.73m). Miranda Lawson ’17 finished in third with 3,200 points, while Abby Feeney ’17 and Mary Sieredzinski ’17 came in fifth and sixth with 3,111 and 2,904 points, respectively.
Finishing their round of early competitions, the teams traveled to Northeastern University for the Jay Carisella Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Track on Dec. 13. The men finished second overall with 139 points, thanks in large part to 4x400m relay team, which finished in 3:22.43 to edge out the Northeastern Huskies, and the three additional event victories picked up by Kevin Stanko ’16, Dom Filiano ’14 and Cosculluela. Stanko defeated Holy Cross’ Trevor Dutton in the mile with a time of 4:22.40, while Filiano and Cosculluela came out victorious with a 53-6.25 ft/16.31m shot put throw and a 15-3.00/4.65m pole vault, respectively. Gomez took second in the 500m dash with a time of 1:05.22, and Jeremy Birck ’15 claimed second in the high jump with a jump of 6-6.25 ft/1.99m.
“I was happy with the results,” men’s head coach Barry Harwick said. “Most of the athletes improved between the first and second meets.”
The women also picked up a second place finish with 147 points, trailing the Huskies only by 6.5 points. Kaitlin Whitehorn ’16 earned 10 points for the Big Green with her record-setting performance in the 60m dash with a time of 7.49 seconds. Dartmouth also shone in the 1000m and the mile run with top finishes by Bridget O’Neill ’18 (2:58.61) and Meggie Donovan ’15 (5:03.51). Aliyah Gallup ’17 earned first place in the 800m run in 2:20.79, and Molly Shapiro ’16 won the triple jump with a jump of 38-4.75 ft/11.70m
With a strong showing in their opening meets for the 2014-2015 season, the men’s and women’s teams are preparing to host the 46th annual Dartmouth Relays, which will be held Jan. 9-11 at the Leverone Field House. Events on Friday and Saturday are slated for high school athletes, while Sunday is reserved for the college and professional level.
Running events are set to begin at 8:30 on Sunday morning with the women’s college and open one-mile walk, and field events begin at the same time with the women’s masters high jump, long jump and shot put.
