Tufts Wins First Tufts Invitational

(1/15/2005) See more Photos     Full Results

The Tufts Track and Field team claimed victory over 9 other New England colleges with 233 points today at the Gantcher Center for Tufts Invitational #1. Second at the meet with a strong showing in the sprints was Umass Lowell with 184 points.

The meet started off with a bang for Tufts in the 3000 meters as Tufts took the top 3 spots including winner Nate Brigham with a time of 8:40.43. He was followed by teammate Matt Lacey and Matt Fortin, who cruised in just over the nine minute mark. The dominance of the distance events continue in the 1500 meters as Tufts took five of the top seven spots, lead by Brian McNamara (2nd in 4:03.31) and Matt Lacey (3rd in 4:05.09).

Tufts? victory could not have come without the help of the jumpers lead by 20 point performer, Fred Jones. Jones with his flawless form won both the long jump (6.60m) and triple jump (13.98m), while teammates Nathan Scott and Dan Marcy took 2nd & 3rd behind him in the triple jump (13.22m, 12.86m).

Junior Jason Galvin and sophomore Ryan Byrne once again lead the way for the throwers gathering 2nd & 3rd in the 35 lb weight throw (14.40m, 13.00m). They traded place in the shot put with Ryan Byrne taking the win with a throw of 14.49m and Galvin taking 6th with a 13.22m throw.

In the other two field events, freshman Jeremy Arak took 2nd in the high jump with a leap of 1.93m, which should move him into the top 5 on the Tufts All-Time list. In the pole vault, Seth LaPierre began his return to form with a victory by clearing 4.20m.

In the short events, Jamil Ludd continued his progression with a 3rd place in a competitive 55m high hurdles (8.06) with veteran Nate Thompson trailing him in 5th (8.22). Sophomore Mickey Ferri took 6th in the 200m with a time of 23.53 against a strong field of Umass Lowell sprinters. The Tufts sprint squad showed some life in the 400m placing 4 runners in the top 7 lead by captain Trevor Williams (3rd in 51.42).

Last, but certainly not least was the Tufts middle distance crew with 2nd & 3rd place finishes in the 800m (Nate Cleveland, Kyle Doran), and 4th & 5th finishes in the 1000m (Aaron Kaye, Pat Mahoney).

Also noteworthy at the first Tufts Invitational was the traditional "Has Beens Mile," where former track and field alumni show off the current state of their once-glorious fitness levels. Defending champ Adam Sharp (E '03) sat behind recent graduate James Lameroux (LA '04) before blazing home to a respectable 4:40 mile. A three-peat could be a challenge for Sharp with the graduation of current distance seniors, McNamara, Brigham, Don and Kaye.

Next week the Tufts team is back at the Gantcher Center for Tufts Invitational #2, a much larger and usually more competitive meet.



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