Tufts Explosive in Season Opener
(12/2/2006) Full ResultsThe Tufts Jumbos kicked off their season Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, making an impressive impact in their 2006-2007 season opener.
Starting off the meet was freshman Nick Welch in the 5000m. In his first indoor race as a Jumbo and first 5k on the track, Welch set the tone for the day with an eyebrow-raising performance. His strong start and intelligent racing brought him to an impressive 15:21.76.
As the 5k was being run on the track, freshman Ikenna Acholonu made his collegiate debut in the 55m hurdles. The 42-inch hurdles proved to be no problem as Acholonu impressed many when he ran 8.00 in the prelims. With the nervousness that accompanies the first race behind him, Ikenna powered down the straightaway in the finals in 7.94. Ikenna earned sixth place finish and the eigth spot on the Tufts All-Time Performance List.
In the 55m dash, Tufts put three sprinters under the 6.90 mark with senior captain Fred Jones, classmate Mickey Ferri, and freshman Marc Soskin running 6.82, 6.83, and 6.86, respectively. Ferri came back later in the meet to set an indoor PR in the 200m dash with a time of 23.11. He was joined by sophomore Colin Fitzgerald, who finished in 23.45. The 400m dash was highlighted by freshmen Scott Brinkman and Andrew Longley's season-opening times of 51.84 and 52.97, respectively. Longley's race was a bit humorous as the freshman did not cut in with the rest of the field at the 150m mark. Instead, he ran in lane 5 an extra 100 meters, cutting in at the 250 mark. Longley still managed to pass runners and finish third in his section (Brinkman placed first) despite having to run a considerable amount of extra distance.
The middle distance events were just as successful for Tufts, as senior captain Nate Cleveland led a pack of first-year Jumbos in the 800m with his third place finish. His time of 1:57.55--the fastest time for Cleveland in two years--at this stage of the season is a terrific starting point and bodes well for the rest of the year. Also running well were Andrew Shanley, Alex Landy, and Jason Hanrahan, whose times of 2:02.69, 2:04.99, and 2:05.06, respectively, are impressive starts to their collegiate careers. Running the mile was freshman Billy Hale, who had a strong season-opening time of 4:38.75. Hale's classmate Peter Browne led the Tufts 3k runners with his fifth place-finishing time of 9:09.53. He was followed closely by classmates Ben Silver and Ryan Lena and senior Peter Goransson.
The Jumbos' successful day on the track was matched by the jumpers and throwers, who dominated the field events. Fred Jones came back from his race to place third in the long jump with a leap of 6.82m (22'04.5") and win the triple jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying jump of 14.09m (46'02.75"). Dan Marcy backed up Jones with a second place finish in the triple jump. Leading the throwers was junior Joseph Brown, who, with a massive eight foot PR, threw for second place in the weight throw with a distance of 15.95m (52'04").
Saturday's meet was a tuneup for some and an exciting first race as a collegians for others, but for the team as a whole, it was a preview of what should be an incredible 2007 track season. As the Tufts Jumbos continue to train hard, the penathletes will open their season next weekend at the Bates Pentathlon in Lewiston, ME.
Full Results