A Look at the Dartmouth Relays

by Bruce Wood for Big Green Sports News

The Dartmouth Relays is a three-day, three-ring circus of runners, jumpers and throwers of all sizes and shapes, talents and ages. From wee ones running the always popular Grafton County One-Lapper to the 82-year-old sprinter who ran a 10.1 in the 60-meter dash Sunday, there's something for everyone of every ability. Here's a look at the 41st edition of the event:

FRIDAY

4 p.m. - The high school boys unseeded one-mile run kicks off the 41st annual Dartmouth Relays. By the end of the day Saturday some 1,596 high school boys and girls will have a chance to test themselves against the best competition they are likely to see all year. "This is a tremendous opportunity for kids to really gain a perspective on their place in the universe of track and field," says Hanover High School coach Jeff Johnson, the man who coined the name NIKE. "Not just in the Northeast but all the way down to New Jersey. For a lot of these kids this will be the biggest meet they are ever in. And for the kids for whom that is not true, it can be a stepping stone to other elite races like the Millrose Games."

6 p.m. - Only the periodic sound of the starter's pistol interrupts the constant buzz of humanity in Leverone. Everywhere you look varsity jackets and uniforms feature the names of schools not only from New Hampshire and Vermont, but from throughout New England, New York and down to New Jersey. "A lot of high school coaches like to reward their team with an overnight trip," says Dartmouth coach Barry Harwick. "It's exciting to go and compete against different people at a different venue."

8 p.m. - The last section of the high school girls distance medley relay is finishing. While several dozen runners do their "cool-down," a girls team in blue-and-yellow uniforms bounces in unison on the high jump pit as parents snap their picture. The hum of the crowd has been replaced by the noise of Leverone's small sweeper cleaning the track, and by the roar of the leaf blower that clears the detritus left by so many teenagers under the bleachers on the west side of the field house.

8:30 p.m. - Her cool-down done, a high school girl reaches into her gym bag for her cell phone to shoot a picture of the enormous Dartmouth Relays sign hanging above the oval. It won't be the last time the sign is photographed.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - The second day starts, with the 55-meter boys hurdles trials kicking off a full day of high school events a half hour later. The high school competition will go non-stop until sections of the girls 4x800 relay begin at 6:30 p.m. The day will go like clockwork with spent athletes from one section of a race barely off the track before the gun sounds and the acrid smell of gunpowder is again in the air. "It's very crazy, but it's awesome," says new Dartmouth throws coach Michelle Clayton of her first Relays. "This meet has been around so long it almost runs itself. The environment and atmosphere is just awesome."

11 a.m. - Almost every square inch of the AstroTurf between the bleachers and the windows looking out on Memorial Field is filled with sitting or sprawling high school athletes. They are prone on quilts and comforters, telltale white cords dangling from their ears a reminder that they are either listening to music to relax or to psyche themselves. To navigate from one side of the turf to the other is almost impossible without stepping on a gym bag, teddy bear or young athlete in a leopard-pattern Snuggie. And still the mass of humanity keeps building. At the door junior thrower Don Kephart is doing one of two two-hour shifts Dartmouth team members are committed to do to help the day go smoothly. "Seniors choose first," says Kephart, who is handing out packets to coaches as they arrive. "This beats raking the pit." After a break Kephart will report to the scorer's area for his next assignment. "I'm guarding the food," he jokes.

1 p.m. - The PA announcer does the best that he can, but over the noise of the crowd his voice can sound like an adult in a Charlie Brown cartoon. "Wahwahwah, wahwahwah." But this much comes through clear: "Only 30 Dartmouth Relays T-shirts left. Get them now or wait until next year." In addition to the T-shirts, there is a stand selling all things track. Need a glove for the weight throw? Got it. A measuring tape, baton, stopwatch or rubber crossbar for the pole vault? Ditto. Nearby Dartmouth Dining Services has everything the hungry high school competitor might want: apples, oranges, Power Ade and pasta. And everything the competitor should avoid but the fan might want, from popcorn to Rice Crispy treats to blue and pink cotton candy, with Diet Coke to wash it down.

4 p.m. - Unbothered by the snow on Memorial Field, two relays runners brave single-digit temperatures to practice handoffs. Inside Leverone, the boys two-mile starts just a tad behind schedule, a startling thing given the number of events taking place this day. Brunswick, Maine senior Will Geoghegan wins the event in 9:18.70, which brings a smile to Harwick's face. Geoghegan, like two of the top three finishers in the mile, girls mile champion Arianna Vailas and Lebanon, N.H. senior Dominic Filiano (a runaway winner of the weight throw and second in the shot, are among the competing athletes already admitted to Dartmouth for next fall. They will join no fewer than 18 members of this year's team who competed in the Relays during their high school careers. "It's very exciting for our guys to know that these kids are coming," says Harwick of the current crop of high school seniors. "Hopefully the juniors who are here and we are looking at go away with a very positive impression of the school."

6 p.m. - The day's events are winding down but volunteer photographer Dan Grossman of nearby Thetford, Vt., is still shooting away. By the end of the day he will have snapped off more than 4,000 pictures, posting them on the web where they can be downloaded (http://mapleleafphotos.com) or purchased for nothing more than the price of printing. The former Dartmouth track official will be at Leverone from the first event to the final event for one important reason. "Our daughters competed in track from 1984 to 2000 and we have just four or five pictures of each of them," he explains. "I take the pictures basically for the parents and the students. I have skills and equipment that can produce pictures no parents who are here can. And parents who are in San Diego can't take anything."

7:15 p.m. - The powerhouse Shenendehowa High School team - the girls won the overall title and the boys were fourth - pose under the Dartmouth Relays sign before heading back to the Greater Albany area. Behind the now empty bleachers children skate on orange NIKE boxes that once held shoes sold to competitors by one of the vendors. The turf is a complete mess with water bottles, programs, a few T-shirts, a knit cap, a right running shoe dotting the surface. Near the high jump pit a forgotten $100 pair of spikes sits forlornly as a cart loaded down with bags of trash motors by.

SUNDAY

8:30 a.m. - Action - if you can call it that - begins with the women's open one-mile walk. The high schoolers gone, Leverone is filled with collegians as well as athletes in the "Open," and "Masters" categories. In addition to competitors from Dartmouth, Harvard, Northeastern and Division III schools, there are a wealth of college and club athletes from Quebec and Ontario along with older competitors. "That's one of the things that sets the Dartmouth Relays apart," says Harwick. "There are meets that have one or two of those groups, but it's really rare to have all four." And that, cross country Hall of Fame coach Jeff Johnson says, is why, "it really is a participants meet. Kind of an indoor Penn Relays of the Northeast."

10:45 a.m. - The masters 60-meter dash trials include 67-year-old Keith Van Winkle of Norwich, Vt., the former head coach of gymnastics at Dartmouth and a national calibre age-group diver. Van Winkle will compete in five events before the day is done, including the pole vault, where he will clear almost 7 feet. "This is harder for me than diving because there isn't as much carryover from gymnastics, but I'm enjoying all of the different events," he said. "The people are great. Everybody is helpful. It's a thrill to do something new at this age of life." Van Winkle, cancer free and competing with vigor three years after his diagnosis, is already looking ahead to the next Dartmouth Relays. "If I stay healthy I'm certainly hoping to be back," he says.

12:05 p.m. - The first of three consecutively younger heats of the Grafton County One-Lapper for children starts. All around the track fully grown athletes stop what they are doing to cheer the kids on. Women's distance coach Maribel Souther rescues toddler son Jackson on the home stretch and carries him across the line. Smiles abound.

12:15 p.m. - Carl Wallin, who retired last spring after 40 years at Dartmouth - and 40 Relays - is honored at the finish line and serenaded with applause from all corners of the building. The annual event will always be special to Wallin, who ignores a back problem to win the weight throw in his age group. "To be able to have a big event at our own facility has been just fantastic," he says. "We get all kinds of people. Boris Zaichuk, a former world record holder in the hammer is here observing. We've had gold medal winners, we've had world records set, you name it. Everybody seems to enjoy it from the top person all the way down to the bottom."

12:45 p.m. - Dartmouth senior Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor ties the Dartmouth school record while winning the 60 in 6.90. No Big Green athlete has ever run so fast over that distance so early in the season according to coach Sandy Ford.

3:25 p.m. - Harwick, dressed neatly in a blue blazer and green tie, goes from administrator to coach, imploring several of his charges to squeeze every possible second off their time.

4:45 p.m. - The 5000 meters, which will be won handily by local product Gabe Proctor, is promoted over the PA by freshman Anthony Romaniw, who tells everyone, "This is a 24-lap race." Laughing teammate John Turro leans into his own mic and corrects him, "It's a 25-lap race," he tells those still remaining.

7:10 p.m. - The final attempts in the weight throw close out the 41st Dartmouth Relays after which the Dartmouth men gather under the huge sign to have Grossman shoot a picture commemorating their victory over second-place Northeastern in the team scoring.

7:30 p.m. - Honda Barnes and his ground crew are hard at work tearing down the track venue so Leverone can be used for Dartmouth field sport practices Monday. "It takes us all week to set up," he says. "We are here all weekend and then the teams want to be back in here practicing at 6 tomorrow morning. We'll get it done, but the teams will probably have to work around us a little bit."

Later Sunday night - The lights go out on the 41st Dartmouth Relays but they will be back on and as bright as ever next January for the 42nd.

Schedules

Players Mentioned

Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor

Anthony Romaniw

John Turro

Footer

Schedules

Completed Event: Women's Track & Field at Jay Carisella Invite on May 2, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track & Field at Battle Road Meet on May 9, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track & Field at The FIRE Meet on May 9, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track & Field at Ivy League Outdoor Championships on May 16, 2026 , , 7th - 32 Pts.

Upcoming Event: Women's Track & Field at NCAA East Preliminary on May 27, 2026

Upcoming Event: Women's Track & Field at NCAA Championships on June 10, 2026