While the men’s and women’s track and field teams had each competed in two meets already this season, this weekend’s contest against Dartmouth and Columbia held two new challenges. Team results were scored and the Bulldogs faced only Ivy League competition for the first time, providing an early opportunity to see how the Elis would stack up against conference foes.

Although the men’s team placed second and the women’s team placed third on Sunday at Coxe Cage, both teams exhibited growth and featured impressive individual performances.

“We’re in the middle of a pretty intense phase of our training,” women’s team captain Allison Rue ’13 said. “[But] people still made things happen this weekend.”

The women tallied 45 points, finishing behind Columbia and meet winner Dartmouth. Yet several Bulldog athletes notched individual victories on the day. Emily Urciuoli ’14 won the pole vault, Emily Stark ’16 took the 3,000-meter, Shannon McDonnell ’16 captured the victory in the 800-meter and Emily Cable ’15 finished first in the 400-meter.

But perhaps the most exciting moment of the day for the Bulldogs came in the women’s shot put. Although she finished second in the event to Dartmouth’s Emmaline Berg, Karleh Wilson ’16 threw 13.75 meters to break Yale’s school record.

“We came in last, which was disappointing,” Rue said. “But we did present, I think, a stronger force against those two schools than we have in years past, so we’re building.”

Rue also cautioned against reading into the results of a small, early season meet, as did men’s team captain Tim Hillas ’13.

The men’s team also fell at home this weekend, amassing 59 points to finish behind Dartmouth’s 77.

“What we did learn … is that we’ve got a very courageous and competitive team this year,” Hillas said. “To see everyone go out there and compete yesterday was truly fantastic.”

While Wilson garnered much excitement for the women’s team, the men’s throwers did not disappoint. Michael Levine ’13 won the weight throw, while Stefan Palios ’14, Mark Kaczor ’14 and Levine placed second, third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. Dana Lindberg ’14 took first in the long jump, and Paul Chandler ’14 captured the top spot in the pole vault.

Also of note were the Elis’ performances in the mile and the 3,000. In the former, John McGowan’s ’15 time of 4:08.44 fell 44 hundredths of a second short that of Dartmouth’s John Bleday, who won the 3,000 at the Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Championships last year. In the 3,000 on Sunday, Bulldog runners placed second, third and fourth.

“To have so many guys up there and competing hard is really fantastic,” Hillas said.

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams will continue their campaigns next weekend at Boston University’s Terrier Invitational, the Elis’ first meet on the road this season. The women will compete on Friday, while the men will compete on Saturday.