Tufts Track and Field Preview

(12/1/2009)

With the 2009 XC season less than two weeks behind them, the Tufts Track and Field team already has set their eyes on some of their toughest competition of the season... their own alumni. Every year, the alumni make one of their bi-annual pilgrimages back to Medford to relive their glory days in one more flash of brilliance. As for the current Jumbos, its a great opportunity to see where their summer and fall of training puts them as they move one step closer to reaching their season goals.

Last winter and spring, the Jumbos saw great success. Highlighted most prominently by their 2nd place finish at the Indoor New England Championships and their 3rd place finish at the NESCAC Outdoor Championships, the Jumbos continued to demonstrate that they are one of the most balanced and talented programs in New England. The Tufts team has finished either 1st or 2nd at the indoor championships in each of the last seven seasons. That being said, last years success was in no way limited to the regional level.

Last year the Jumbos earned seven All American honors among all event groups on the track, including the decathlon, high jump, 5k and DMR. On the other hand, it was a tough year for the squad in regards to graduation as the team said goodbye to a number of decorated veterans. Most notably, the team feels the loss of school record holders Skip Pagel (decathlon), James Bradley (HJ), and Phil Rotella (100m) as well as classmates Colin Fitzgerald and Marcelo Norsworthy who earned numerous All Region and All Conference honors.

The question remains…how will this team take a step forward from last years strength?

With renewed vigor and hunger, this years Jumbos are starting the winter season with some of the best fitness of any Tufts Track and Field team in recent memory. This years campaign is led by a number of national caliber athletes including the teams four captains - Jared Engelking, Billy Hale, Andrew Longley, and Nick Welch.

Engelking is returning from his 3rd place finish at last springs National Championships in the decathlon and adds national qualifying PRs in the pentathlon and high hurdles to his resume. Hale led off the DMR team that finished 3rd at last winters indoor Nationals, which also showcased Welch as one of the top twelve 5,000m runners in the country. Longley has set the Jumbos indoor 200m record and qualified for nationals as a member of the DMR in past.

The rest of the Jumbos do an impressive job following suit behind their leaders. This years squad posts one of the most talented and versatile distance and mid distance teams in the nation. Joining Welch on the distance front is Jesse Faller who became Tufts first ever 3x Cross Country All American this fall. He looks to build on his PRs of 3:51 and 14:26 from last spring. Added to the mix, All Region XC runners Jeff Ragazzini, Kyle Marks, and Chris Brunnquell and the Jumbos boast five distance runners who have finished in the top 35 of New England. Many others look to add both depth and strength to the distance troop including returners Scott McArthur, Andrew Bellet, and Jerzy Eisenberg Guyot.

One of this years teams greatest strengths lies in its mid distance core. Hale (1:53, 2:30) is backed by Jason Hanrahan (1:54), Connor Rose (1:55), Scott Brinkman (1:55), Adrian Dahlin (1:55), Dan Kirschner (1:56), and Matt Tirrell (1:58, 4:04). With the indoor NE Championships competing in the 600m, 800m 1000m, mile, 4x800m, and DMR, this depth will be critical to the Jumbos balanced attack this winter.

Some of the biggest holes from graduation were left in the teams power/speed events. The loss of a trio of school record holders is always hard for a team to recover from. Looking to fill the void in the multi-events, the Jumbos return two pentathletes with national caliber PRs as Engelking (3391, 6834) is joined by senior Trevor Donadt (3353, 54.03). Even still, the pentathlon may not even be Donadts strongest event as he has qualified for nationals in the 400mIH on numerous occasions.

In the sprints, Longley (22.28, 49.44) gets support from a number of returners. Veterans Ben Crastnopol (23.22, 50.09), James Wheeler (6.69, 11.26), and Marc Soskin (6.75, 11.36) and a core of freshman sprinters will work to fill the hole left by Fitzgerald and Rotella from last years team. Wheeler and Crastnopol also double back as two of the teams better long jumpers. They’re joined by senior Jonathan Pak who has successfully made the transition to track and field from his early career in basketball. In the vertical jumps, senior Isaiah Paramore (6-6.75 – HJ) and junior Sam Read (14-7 – PV) lead the way. Rounding out the field events is the Jumbos top thrower Alex Gresham (51-4, 164-9) who spent the fall doubling as a starter on the Jumbos D-Line.

Adding to this years depth and potential is the balanced freshman class of 2013. As they continue to adjust to the increased work load of Tufts University and collegiate athletics, this years rookies continually demonstrate their great potential for their next four years. A number of the class of 2013 already have experience competing at the collegiate level.

Kyle Marks, Matt Rand, Brandon Severson, and Dan Kirschner all competed at a championship level for the TUXC squad this fall. They’re joined by Sam Haney, Adam Brosh, Jeff Marvel, Luke Maher, and Nick Ferrentino. Other fall sport athletes include football athletes Sam Stone (SP, DT), Curtis Yancy (SP, DT), and Vinnie Lee (100, 200). Kameraon Jaff (200, 400, 400IH) rounds out the teams multi sport athletes, after resting up from his soccer season.

Some first years have spent the fall in the weight room making gains that they are looking forward to putting into effect this winter. Mike Blair (Pent, HJ, HH), Brad Nakanishi (PV, HH), Gbola Ajayi (100, LJ), and Russell Stern (LJ, TJ) are joined by 200/400 runners Lomie Cunningham, Olamide Babatunde, and Lawrence Xia to round out the freshman class.

Tufts Track and Field 2010 – the biggest questions is “What will we be writing about six months from now?”