While students were finishing up their winter breaks and heading back to school, the men's and women's track and field teams competed at the prestigious Dartmouth Relays on Sunday.

In the meet, held at the Leverone Field House at Dartmouth College, the distance crew gained valuable experience by competing against NCAA Division I squads such as Dartmouth, Northeastern University and Boston College. 

It was the first time that the teams had competed since they hosted the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational on Dec. 7, 2012.

"I think it was a good start to the season overall," said Amelia Lundkvist '14, who placed 13th in the one-mile race. "It was a good start considering we just came back from vacation."

The one-mile run featured a host of runners on both the men's and women's side. 

In the men's race, Alex Kramer '13 scored the Judges' sole point of the meet with his sixth-place finish. He completed the distance in four minutes, 17.74 seconds. Mik Kern '13 finished 15th in 4:25.31. Greg Bray '15 took 25th, clocking in at 4:39.93. Grady Ward '16 ran 4:42.43, good for 29th. Liban Aden '16 placed 34th, sneaking under the five-minute mark with a 4:59.49 finish.

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The women's mile saw tight pack running from Kelsey Whitaker '16, Victoria Sanford '14 and Lundkvist result in consecutive finishes of 11th, 12th and 13th places-the trio timed in at 5:22.38, 5:23.02 and 5:24.12, respectively. Maggie Hensel '16 took 18th in 5:39.30, Molly Paris '16 finished 20th with a time of 5:50.52 and Rachel Keller '16 timed in at 5:54.60, good for 22nd.

And though the majority of Judges participated in the aforementioned eight-lap race, there were a few other performances in other distance events. 

Jarret Harrigan '15 took 18th in the men's 3,000-meter run, covering the distance in 9:02.26 seconds. On the women's  side, Nora Owens '16 and Gabriella Guillette '15 finished 19th and 20th in the women's 800-meter run, respectively. 

While the competing contingent didn't represent the entirety of the Judges' track and field squad, the multitude of races that were represented this past weekend show the vast array of events that the Judges have in their arsenal. 

This is incredibly important in terms of scoring points, and will be even more so as the season goes on, especially when they face off against schools with bigger squads. 

And, given the early stages of the season-the bigger meets, particularly the University Athletic Association and NCAA Division III Championships are slated for the end of February and the beginning of March-fitness will only improve as the athletes adjust to their training regimens.

"We still have a whole season of racing and training ahead of us, so we expect that our fitness and legspeed will continue to improve as our mileage and intensity increases," said Lundkvist. 

"We're not quite at the maximum volume or intensity yet as far as training goes, but we're getting there," she added, "so when we get to those levels, hopefully our times will start to drop."

Given the prestigious nature of this particular meet, the experience gained through the atmosphere and intensity of the competition will prove helpful for the Judges down the road. 

Unlike the majority of other winter sports, in which teams only compete against other Division III teams, the track and field team finds itself competing against Division I and II squads. While points may become harder to earn with the increased intensity, the level of  competition will certainly give the athletes the opportunity to enter new realms of performance. Certainly, competing against high-caliber opposition has both its benefits and drawbacks. However, in the long-term focus, it will only benefit these athletes.

The Judges will be called upon to do so again in next week's Greater Boston Track Club Invitational, which will be held at Boston University on Sunday, Jan. 20.