At 13th, Tufts in Good Position

(10/6/2007) Full Results

Saturday afternoon, 80 degree weather, blue skies, bright sun, plenty of sand. Sounds like a great start to the long Columbus Day weekend. That is unless you're not planning a Saturday at the beach, but a full out 8k race. This weekend the team headed down the street to Boston's Franklin Park for the 2007 Open New England Championships and their first real test of the season. Their total of 409 points was a 78 point improvement from their 2006 performance moving up 2 places to the 13th spot. The Tufts harriers finished 5th of the Division III schools, just 2 points behind MIT and 19 points back on Bowdoin College.

The Jumbos top runner was senior, All-American Dave Sorensen finishing 34th overall with a time of 25:57. On a day that had more than 60 fewer runners break the 26:00 barrier from a year ago, Sorensen was the lone sub 26 runner for the Jumbos. Coming in just behind Sorensen's time was sophomore Jesse Faller with a time of 26:15. Both athletes knocked an additional 15 seconds off of their time from a year ago -- a very impressive feat considering the race conditions. Rounding out the top 5 were Christopher Kantos (Sr, 91st), Greg Pallotta (Fr, 104th), and Nick Welch (So, 132nd).

The five raced in a tight pack through 2 miles after coming through the first mile in 4:55. At the 2nd mile mark Sorensen and Faller began to separate themselves from the rest and move through the field of runners. After the 5k, Sorensen continued to move picking up an additional 30 spots over the final 3k. All five closed extremely well nabbing 5-10 spots over the final 400m of the course. Completing the varsity 7 for the Jumbos were junior David Tilton and freshman Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot. Battling the heat over the first 5k of the race, Tilton would be forced from the race and unable to finish. Eisenberg-Guyot was muscled from the race by a spill in the opening 400m, unable to regain his momentum towards the finish. In the sub-varsity race, Jeff Ragazzini (Fr, 28:08) and Billy Hale (So, 28:27) led the charge for the Jumbos.

All in all, it was a very challenging day for all those who raced and it is safe to say that not one runner left feeling that they raced to their full potential. However, it is also a sure bet that each Jumbo did everything in their power to put their best race forward. When that race preparation and mental focus meets better race conditions, it should be a much different Tufts team that flows down the finish shoot.

After washing all the sweat and dirt from their singlets, the Jumbos head west next weekend to Williamstown, MA. There they will have the opportunity to preview the Williams College course, host for both the NESCAC and ECAC championships.




Full Results