More than 3000 track and field athletes of all ages will set their spikes in Leverone Field House this weekend for the 25th Annual Dartmouth Relays, New England's premier indoor track and field event.
The participants include high school and college athletes, former and current Olympians, national and world record holders, club team members, masters champions and grammar school kids.
On Friday, the men's and women's Masters events will be held, featuring athletes over 30 divided into age brackets. Dartmouth track coaches and meet co-directors Carl Wallin and Sandra Ford-Centonze will display their form in the shot put and the 55 and 200-meter sprint, respectively. The college and open pentathlon will also be held.
Saturday features the high school division, with schools such as Pinkerton Academy and Hanover High School participating.
On Sunday, the final day of the Relays, the college and open competitions will be held and will feature several Dartmouth athletes competing alongside former Olympians such as Ramona Pagel, a three-time Olympian who set the American indoor and outdoor record in the shot put. LaVonna Floreal, a two-time Olympian and Silver medalist in the 1992 Olympics in the 55-meter hurdles, will attempt to defend her Relay record set last year.
Pagel will hold a seminar on the shot put on Saturday.
Several records appear to be in jeopardy this weekend. Kenyan Stanley Kimutai will attempt to break the four-minute mile. The New York Athletic Club will send its four mile-relay squad. Last year the NYAC's relay team shattered a 17-year-old American record at the Dartmouth Relays.
In the college division, University of New Hampshire, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Boston College and University of Vermont will be attending, as well as several Canadian club and college teams.
The Relays mark the beginning of the indoor track season.
"With only one week of training before the meet, I think the team will do really well but I don't think we'll be in top form," Wallin said.
Dartmouth's track teams will only send roughly half of their squads, due to the individual focus of the meet and nagging injuries.
"We're not looking at this as a team meet," Ford-Centonze said. "It's an important meet for us, but it's certainly not one we would jeopardize an entire season for. I think those that are competing are certainly going to be ready to go and perform well, and we're looking to progress through the season and hopefully peak for the Heptagonal Championships at the end of the season."
Several Dartmouth athletes have already represented the United States in international competition this indoor season. Juniors Ted FitzPatrick and Kristin Cobb both competed in the 1992 world cross country championships, while Jason Dunklee '96 participated in the 1993 championships in Spain. Adam Nelson '97, an All-American in the shot put, is also a gold medal winner in last summer's Pan American Games.
"It's going to be a good meet with some real good competition," Nelson said. "My coach is expecting me and everyone else to do well, but the pressure that I'm getting is all from myself."
"It's going to be a very exciting meet and with it being our first competition of the year. I think everyone wants to see where we are. It's basically a starting point and we've been training very hard,." said women's track co-captain Candi Shoemaker '94, who excelled at last year's Relay in the throwing events.
"The team has a great attitude," she added. "They're very spirited and everyone is very supportive of each other."
Senior Derek West, the men's co-captain, said the Relays "are a fairly low key meet for us, but we hope to get things rolling in the right direction. It's not really a team-oriented meet. It's more for individuals to get an early season start. I think it's good for us, since it is our first meet, and it's nice to not have that team pressure. The competition will be there and I expect some good performances."
Co-captain Kurt Cohen '94 said the presence of Olympic-level athletes will benefit the team and will "push the competition up a little. Everyone will compete a little better."
The events will be held in Leverone Field House and mark the unveiling of a new track.
"Everyone's excited about the new track," women's co-captain Karen Rieper '94 said, "and we're looking forward to a good season."
