In 2010 nobody would have predicted this recruit would become an NCAA champion.

An array of New Balance spikes, all neon pinks and yellows and blues, lies on the bright green infield turf, just beyond the finish line, a pair for each woman on the Dartmouth College distance squad. With a bright April sun shining down – it's the first warm day of the year in Hanover, N.H., and the wind has slowed enough so as not to wreak havoc on splits – the scene looks like what Gauguin would have painted if he had gone to track meets, not Tahiti. Several runners are already midworkout, groups of guys running shirtless, women 800m runners, an assistant coach yelling split times. After a 20-minute warm-up, the distance group has collected. They're a boisterous bunch, talking about classes and teammates and, for reasons unknown, how scientists can track penguin poop by satellite. Their laughs turn to coos over a wiggling chocolate lab puppy on a leash held by a young assistant sports information director.