Jumbos Fully Adapt to Cold & Wind - Strong Spring Continues

(4/14/2007) Full Results

The Jumbos traveled to the George Davis Invitational at UMass-Lowell in search of more qualifying marks and to tune up for the rapidly approaching championship season, leaving behind Jared and Derek Engelking, along with Skip Pagel who all competed in the Decathlon back at Tufts.

In Lowell, the track events started off strong with the 4x100. The 'A' team of Mickey Ferri, Andrew Longley, Nathan Scott, and Fred Jones ran a season best 43.17. The foursome will seek to improve that mark in warmer weather in search of the school record mark of 42.43 and the NCAA provisional mark of 42.00.

The sprinters continued their good start in the 100m dash. Mickey Ferri led the way with an 11.24, closely followed by Andrew Longley and Colin Fitzgerald in 11.46 and 11.48. Returning from injury was Phil Rotella, posting a solid 11.53.

In the 110 Hurdles, Trevor Donadt and Ikenna Acholonu went 3-4 in 15.56 and 15.59, respectively. This college PR puts him 7th on the Tufts all-time list in just his 3rd race.

On the distance side, Freshman Nick Welch finished 5th overall in the 2 mile with a time of 9:30.45. Dave Sorensen, Josh Kennedy, and Chad Uy all also ran impressively with times of 9:33.9, 9:35.85, and 9:48.94. Junior Matt Alander was the top Tufts finisher in the 1500m in 4:21.6. Senior Justin Chung finished third in the 5k with a very impressive 15:25.

Senior captain Nate Cleveland and Freshman Billy Hale finished 3-4 in the 800, running almost identical 1:57.43 and 1:57.49. Cleveland was forced to lead the pack for the first lap and showed impressive stamina, finishing strong to catch the freshman at the line.

Tufts also grabbed three of the top 8 spots in the 400 hurdles, with senior captain Dave McCleary in 3rd with a PR of 57.76, Trevor Donadt in 5th in 57.94, and Nathan Scott in 7th in 58.02.

Sophomore James Bradley won the high jump, leading the core of young high jumpers that took 3 spots in the top 9. Bradley cleared 1.88m on his first attempt to secure the victory in the cold weather. The Tufts jumping foursome of Bradley, Junior Jeremy Arak, Sophomore Ted MacMahan, and Freshman Isaiah Paramore are currently ranked 1-4 in NESCAC.

The 400 was a high-profile event for the Jumbos, with Dustin Virgilio, Bradley, and Scott Brinkman all running in adjacent lanes. When the dust settled, the freshman took 4th in 50.58, Virgilio took 5th just behind him in 50.59, and Bradley closely followed in 50.67, all setting new personal bests.

With an early week forcast of 60 degrees and sunny for next Saturday's competition, the Jumbos are hopeful that their trip to MIT next weekend will be a fruitful one.


Full Results