Tufts Takes First as Coast Guard Opens New Facility

(4/7/2007) Full Results

The Tufts University Jumbos traveled to New London, Connecticut to compete at the Coast Guard Invitational. The weather was cold and windy throughout most of the day. The new facility looks great and will be a great site for meets in warmer temperatures. The less than ideal weather did not hamper the Jumbos as many athletes posted excellent marks. The invitational was scored, and Tufts took the overall victory with a score of 224, while host Coast Guard followed with 194.

The sprinters performed very well. Tufts was able to place four runners among the top eight in the 100 meter dash. Mickey Ferri earned the win (11.27), while Fred Jones finished third (11.50), Ikenna Acholonu fourth (11.54) and Mark Soskin seventh (11.71). Normal middle distance runner Nate Cleveland, came down in distance for the day, taking part in the 200 and 400 meter races. Nate took third place in the 400 with a time of 50.90. Later on, he finished second in the 200 (23.60). Scott Brinkman posted the fastest time in the quarter mile for the Jumbos (50.69). Brinkman, Cleveland, Dustin Virgilio, and James Bradley took spots 2-3-4-5 in the 400.

The middle distance crew also had a strong day. Sophomore Marcelo Norsworthy and Freshman Billy Hale finished second and third respectively in the 800 meter run. Marcelo narrowly missed out on the win as he was just .23 seconds behind the leader. Freshman Adrian Dahlin backed up Marcelo and Billy with a fifth place finish. In the 1500, the duo of Jesse Faller and Dave Sorensen placed second and fifth. Jesse ran a strong race and his late surge nearly earned him the victory. The coaches were kind enough to not enter anybody in the steeplechase--which would have been miserable with the chilling winds circling the track.

Tufts was well represented in the hurdles. In the high hurdles, Freshman Ikenna Acholonu earned a narrow victory with a time of 15.46. Classmate Andrew Longley followed up in third place. The performance of the day goes to junior Nathan Scott. In his first race ever in the 400 hurdles, Nate powered around the track to take the win in a time of 57.20.

The relay squads were succesful, as Tufts took home victories in both events. The 400 relay foursome of Mickey Ferri, Nate Scott, Fred Jones and Andrew Longley ran to a comfortable victory in 43.32. Longley returned in the 1600 relay and was joined by Cleveland, Virgilio and Brinkman. This group finished over two seconds ahead of Coast Guard.

The Jumbos were making some noise of the track as well. In the High Jump, James Bradley led Jeremy Arak, Ted McMahan, and Isaiah Paramore to a 2-3-4-6 finish. Meanwhile, Skip Pagel vaulted to a college best of 12'03". Skip also threw a PR in the discus as he gears up for a decathlon next weekend. Nate Scott lead the triple jumpers for the second straight week. His 13.33/43-09 mark earned him third place.

In the Javelin, Senior David Igbalajobi and Junior Nick Gentilli posted PRs. In the preliminary round, Nick threw over 50 meters for the time. He placed fifth with a mark of 50.74/166'05". Big Dave was having a rough time having to run back and forth between the Hammer Throw and the Javelin. The coaches considered having Dave pass his last throw as his throws showed increasing fatigue. Dave insisted to take the throw, and the result was a PR of 52.14/171'.

The Jumbos compete next weekend at the Davis Invitational hosted by UMass Lowell. The meet will feature great competition as the Jumbos seek more qualifying marks for the upcoming championship season.



Full Results