Tufts Opens 2008 Campaign; Bradley Qualifies for NCAAs

(1/19/2008) See more Photos     Full Results

The Jumbos hosted their first of four home indoor meets this year this weekend at the Gantcher Center in Medford, MA. After a hard week of practice and the beginning of classes, the team posted great marks in all corners of the facility on both Friday evening and Saturday, as well as a meet-winning 203 points, giving Tufts a lot of confidence heading into next week's meet at Boston University.

Competition opened Friday evening with one of the few pentathlons before the New England Division III Championships. Sophomore Bobby Bardin was the lone Jumbo in the nighttime competition, participating in three of the five events for the first time in his track career. In the events he had done before--55m hurdles and high jump--Bardin posted PRs of .12 seconds and almost 2 inches, respectively, leading him to qualify for New Englands by almost 100 points with a score of 2894.

The momentum continued into Saturday, with the day opening up with the men's high jump. Junior James Bradley brought the Gantcher Center to its feet right from the start, clearing heights all the way up to the NCAA provisionally-qualifying 2.01m (6' 7"). Bradley made this his third straight season in which he qualified for the NCAA championships, and hopes to improve his mark in the coming weeks to guarantee a plane ticket.

The other field events also gave a preview of things to come when championship season rolls around later in the winter, with senior Joe Brown winning the weight throw with a toss of 15.58m (51' 1.5") and senior captain Dan Marcy winning the triple jump with a leap of 13.61m (44' 8"). In the pole vault, freshman Sam Read came in third place on misses, clearing a height of 4.04m (13' 3").

The Jumbos were just as dominant in the running events, with PRs, qualifications, and wins all across the board. Three Tufts sprinters made the finals of the 55m dash, with sophomores Andrew Longley and Marc Soskin and junior Phil Rotella posting times of 6.72, 6.76, and 6.83, respectively. Soskin also came back to run the 200m dash, crossing the line in 23.91, right in front of junior Colin Fitzgerald, who finished in 24.10. In the 55m hurdles, sophomore Trevor Donadt posted his second 7.90 in as many weeks, finishing .07 seconds behind the winner.

The 600m featured sophomore Scott Brinkman, who finished in second place by .02 seconds with a time of 1:24.27. Sophomore Alex Landy was the first Tufts athlete to cross the line in the 800m, finishing second in 2:00.30. Five Jumbos scored in the 1000m, with freshman Greg Pallotta and sophomore Billy Hale leading the pack in 2:35.11 and 2:35.36, respectively. In one of the more exciting races of the day, the 3000m featured a duel between All-Americans Jesse Faller and Dave Sorensen, with Faller getting the win in 8:36.13, and Sorensen right behind him in 8:38.51.

The Tufts Men's Track Team will continue to build up its roster for the New England Division III Championships next weekend at Boston University's banked track at the 2008 Terrier Invitational.


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