In cold and wet conditions at Harvard last weekend, the men's and women's track teams ran to a second place finish against Harvard and Brown.
Brown won the meet for both the men and the women. The Big Green men defeated Harvard to finish second while the women finished third overall.
One of the most impressive performances of the day came on the field when Adam Nelson '97 threw a 595 3/4, a distance exceeding the NCAA provisional qualifying distance, in the shot put. This throw gave Nelson not only first place in the shot but also a good chance at making NCAA championships in June.
Nelson's throw was "the highlight from our point of view," men's coach Barry Harwick said. He described the throw as "phenomenal."
Although the throw will not allow Nelson to qualify automatically for the NCAA's, Harwick said he thinks it will be more than sufficient to qualify once selection time comes around.
In addition to a first in the shot put, Nelson won the discus with a personal best 184-4, followed closely by teammate Alex Ghanotakis '97 at second with a 172-1. Ghanotakis won the hammer with a 168-5.
Also bringing in a second place finish was Damon Blechen '98 in the shot put.
While Dartmouth found success on the field, many of the track events were dominated by Brown.
Co-Captain Jack Dwyer '96 managed to pull out the only victory on the track, beating an opponent from Brown in the 5,000 meter by .77 seconds in 15:07.51. The men's four by 100 meter relay team finished second to Brown.
Harwick said the weather had some effect on his athletes.
"The conditions were horrible, very cold and windy," he said. "But we were definitely glad to beat Harvard."
For the women, co-Captain Kristin Manwaring '96 took first in the 1,500 meter in 4:32.85 and second in the 800 meter. Also on the track, Dierdre Milligan '98 finished third in the 3,000 meter and Beth Crenshaw '99 finished fourth.
On the field, the women were led by co-Captain Amy Winchester '96 who won the shot put in 451 3/4 and the discus in 1403 and finished third in the hammer. Stacey Briere '97 finished second in the hammer.
Also bringing in some valuable team points were Sarah Howald '96 with a victory in the javelin (1268 1/2) and Wendy Skelton '99 with a second in the discus.
Manwaring said that she and her teammates definitely felt the effects of the cold between events.
"We got caught in a rut sitting around," she said. "It was a little cold. Distances were shorter and times were slower."
The weather aside, however, Manwaring felt the team did not do as well as they should have.
"If we're going to do well we'll have to get our heads together. We took the meet for granted," she said. She added that the team "didn't use [the meet] as a stepping stone" like they had hoped.
Winchester said she felt the team learned something from the meet. As the season's first Ivy League competition, "it was good to start the season and see what the other teams have," she said.
Manwaring said that the small size of the Dartmouth team makes it more competitive in larger meets where more displacing can occur. "In bigger meets, it's quality not quantity," she said.
This weekend the throwers from the women's team will compete in an invitational in Knoxville, Tennessee with some of the men's team. The women who stay at home will face the Universities of Vermont and New Hampshire Saturday, while the men will run against UVM.
