Qualifiers All Around For Jumbos, Bradley to Nationals

(1/17/2009) Full Results

One week removed from their drumming by the Alumni and Coaches, the Jumbos opened the doors of Gantcher to some early season competition. Joined by UMass Lowell, Keene State, RPI and others, the Jumbos looked to continue their steps towards new PRs and qualifying marks. Although it was one of the smallest competing squads in recent history, it proved to be one of the most balanced attacks in years.

With a handful of athletes running AM workouts, others resting up from sickness, and some venturing down to DC for the inauguration ceremonies, only about half of the roster actually suited up for the first of three home invitationals this year. Yet even with their smaller numbers, their was no shortage of noteworthy performances.

As always, the meet began in the field. 11:00AM marked the start of the men’s high jump and weight throw and the team couldn’t have asked for a better spark than what ensued. On the high jump apron, junior Isaiah Paramore continued his resurgent season with his clearance of 6-3.25. After three great attempts at 6-5, Paramore has become a much more consistent threat at higher heights. Building on Paramore’s clearance would be senior captain James Bradley, who would add his own PR and national qualifying jump of 6-8.25. Adding in his own great looks at 6-9.5, Bradley and Paramore are currently ranked as the top two high jumpers in New England.

“I’m relieved to have gotten my qualifier out of the way early this year” said James Bradley after his event. “The coaches have given me some looks at higher heights in practice 6-10, 7-0 and I think it’s starting to pay off. Really, it was great to see all three of us having such smooth approaches because that’s what we’ve really been focusing on all season”

Across the infield, another onslaught of PR’s was beginning to play out. The quartet of young throwers for the Jumbos – sophomores David Dormon, Alex Gresham, Cullan Riley and freshmen Matt Williams – all posted PR marks for the 35# weight throw this weekend. Gresham’s mark of 47-11.75 qualified him for the New England Championships, currently ranked 7th in the region. Later in the day, Matt Williams would match Gresham’s qualifier with his 2nd PR and a toss of 45-8.5 in the shot put.

On the track, junior Jesse Faller kicked things off for the Jumbos in the 3k. Lacing up his spikes for the first time since his All American finish in cross country, Faller kicked the dust off while still qualifying for the New England Championships comfortably coming home in a time of 8:52.17.

Continuing his solid start, freshmen Ben Crastnopol added his own pair of PR’s in the 55m and 200m dashes. His 23.63 in the 200m was noteworthy because it was almost 0.5 faster than his banked track time from earlier in the season. From there, the day would be owned by the competing veterans.

Senior Marcelo Norsworthy continued his revival tour taking 2nd place in the 600m with his 1:23.17 PR. Hot on his heels was junior Scott Brinkman who added his own New England qualifier. Fellow juniors and mid-d teammates, Billy Hale and Jason Hanrahan clocked in at 2:34 and 2:35 respectively in the 1000m to continue their own great starts.

Norsworthy gave all credit to his teammates and coach after his race when he said “Brink[man] really set the pace for us early in that race. Without his start, I wouldn’t have been able to have the PR that I did. We’re all running great right now. [Coach] Carberry is putting together some great workouts and we haven’t even started any speed work yet.”

Norsworthy, Hale, and Hanrahan were joined by sophomore Jeff Ragazzini in the 4x800 to close out the meet. Ragazzini had won the 1 mile a few hours before in the only sub 4:30 time of the day making each athlete coming back for their 2nd event. The foursome outpaced the rest of the teams by 20+ seconds for a time of 8:08.

The Jumbos will head across town next weekend for the Boston University Terrier Invitational. This marathon meet is a great opportunity to run against some good competition on a good track. The Jumbos should continue their qualifying ways and post some addition PR’s to this young season.


Full Results