Varsity distance runner and former sports editor Jason Norris ’24 reflects on the success of his team’s synergy at the George Davis Invitational.
by Jason Norris | 53 minutes ago
Courtesy of Jason Norris
Athletics is objectively not a team sport. In team sports like football and basketball, an individual’s success depends on the success of his team. If you don’t win, none of your teammates will win either. On the track, on the other hand, scoring is often individual – you could win your race and everyone else on your team could lose theirs. There’s also a perceived lack of teamwork: you don’t have to pass a ball between teammates in a race, you don’t have to cover for your teammates on defense, and you certainly don’t have a backup when you tire. However, it would be naïve to neglect the team aspect of athletics.
Last weekend, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s George Davis Invitational, Dartmouth’s athletics achieved success based on teamwork: two first places, two second places and two personal bests for the men’s team and ten events won with eight personal bests by the women’s team. Going into the meet, we were paired against some of the less competitive teams in the Northeast, like the University of New Hampshire, Keene State College and Bentley University. On a weekend when many of us were hoping to run fast times and set new personal bests, it was scary that we would be trying to do this without a lot of competition driving us – it’s a lot easier to run fast, when you compete against someone better than yourself.
However, a few of my teammates volunteered to help many of us accelerate in our races – meaning they would lead the first part of the race and set a specific pace for those in the race to hope to run. As a runner, having a pacemaker gives you the ability to chase someone, which is especially helpful in a non-competitive field. These teammates were willing to sacrifice their own opportunities for a personal best and were completely focused on leading their teammates to success.
In the men’s race we had two pacers at the top. My teammate and training partner Jason Wang ’22 kept me on pace in the 3000 meter steeplechase. From the gun, Jason took the lead and I followed him, trusting him as I do when we train together to set the right pace. I held onto his shoulder as he covered the first 1600m in a perfect 4:54 split. As he went off the track he gave an encouraging cheer and I continued at the pace he had set for the fifth lap. As the race went on against the clock, however, I struggled to feel the right pace and slowed down on sixth. Then, on the seventh and final lap, I felt myself cramping in the cold and crossed the finish line in a time of 9:18 – a handful of seconds off my target time but still a personal best and a win that wasn’t was possible were achieved without Jason.
The other men’s hero of the day was Davy Appleton ’24. He started the day off pacing Drew Thompson ’22 in the two-mile race. Davy ran the first half of the race, putting Drew to a sub-9-minute pace with a mile of 4:31. After Davy went off the track, Drew was put in the lead and continued the race. Like me, Drew crossed the line just wide of his goal in a time of 9:13.
After that effort, Davy drank a milkshake – seriously, it was called a Cambodia shake – and relaced his shoes to accelerate Colin Donnelly ’24 in the 5000m. Davy was only scheduled to run the first 2000m of the race as he had already run a fast mile while pacing Drew and wanted to run a pace of 70 seconds per lap for Donnelly – a pace of 4:40 miles. As he crossed the 2000 meter mark, instead of getting off the track and patting himself on the back after a great pace job, he kept running. Like a metronome, he hit each lap in a perfect split and carried Colin through the race. Maybe the Cambodia shake gave him an unexpected boost of energy because every time he passed he used his index finger to signal my trainer for one more lap. Finally at the 4000m mark Davy peeled off and let Colin take the glory in the final 1000m where Colin lapped many of his competitors and crossed the finish line first in 14:40 – just seconds behind him in his PR first race in almost a year due to injury.
We saw success through pacing not only among men, but also among women. Bella Pietrasiewicz ’25 – having run the 1500m earlier in the day – advanced Annie Jackson ’24 in the 800m to win in a near personal best of 2:11. Additionally, the trio of Emma Kerimo ’25, Emily Levonas ’24 and Corinne Robitaille ’23 led Steph Finley ’23 to victory and her personal best 5000m time of 17:03.
Across the board, the team’s success at the meeting was a direct product of a cohesive group of people caring about each other’s success. It was a reminder of the value that being part of a team can bring to each individual – a lesson we will remember as we race together next weekend at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at the University of Pennsylvania and cheer each other on.
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