Following the end of the indoor season, Dartmouth’s men and women’s track and field teams continue to make strides at outdoor meets as the Ivy League Championships approach. The squad broke program records both at the University of Connecticut Northeast Challenge from April 18-19 and this past weekend at the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania.
At UConn, the teams garnered several notable achievements. Jada Jones ’26 and Liam Murray ’26 both surpassed their own leading program records in the 400 meters. Several athletes achieved first-place finishes, including Andie Murray ’26 in the 800m, Bella Pietrasiewicz ’25 in the 1500m, and Mariella Schweitzer ’26 in the long jump. Many others set personal records and placed in their events.
According to team member Ayush Saran ’27, the UConn meet demonstrated that “the training is working” and showed how everyone is “headed in the right direction.”
This past weekend, both teams brought their building momentum to Philadelphia for the 129th annual Penn Relays, a pinnacle event on the track schedule. According to Pietrasiewicz, “the energy in the stadium” throughout the event was “really special.”
“Every single person gets up to cheer as loud as they can every time someone in a Dartmouth uniform steps on the track, and it makes a world of a difference when you’re racing,” Pietrasiewicz said.
The team saw success across the board. The women’s sprint medley relay team achieved second in the championship division and set a school record, the men’s 4x800 got fourth all time in the championship division, the women’s 4x800 relay won the college division, the men’s 4x400 ran the fifth fastest time in program history and the 4x100 relays on both the men’s and women’s side made it to the finals.
Pietrasiewicz commented specifically on the women’s 4x800 relay, expressing how “everyone on the relay ran their heart out” and that she is proud of her teammates.
“Every single girl did their job to get us into the right position and pushed themself to finish strong, which was just so special to see,” Pietrasiewicz said.
“It was a really great day overall and everyone showed up for each other in a really awesome way,” she added.
Another team member, Esme Daplyn ’28, echoed Pietrasiewicz.
“It was great to see how our relays are coming together and competing alongside ‘big-name’ schools,” Daplyn said.
Pietrasiewicz emphasized the closeness of the team, and the “love and support” members have for one another. She described how people “[blow] up the GroupMe with every new performance” and support one another at events.
“Everyone really cares about each other,” she said. “I’ve never seen this much support and energy across every event group in a long time and I’m so grateful and proud to be a part of it.”
With the Outdoor Ivy League Championships approaching, Saran expressed his excitement for the rest of the outdoor season, stating that “this team is special.”
“We’re in the meat of the season right now, doing some really hard workouts on the track and racing really hard — I think everyone is heading in the right direction,” he said.
The teams will compete at both Brown University for the Springtime Invitational and Northeastern University for the Jay Carisella Coaches Invitational on May 3, before taking part in the Ivy League championships at Yale the following week.
