Indoor Track Opens 2010-11 Season

(12/5/2010 8:56 AM) Full Results

As the starter fired the gun for the seeded section of the 5k this Saturday, he did more than kick off Chris Brunnquell’s 15:21 PR performance - he began the 2010-11 Tufts Track and Field campaign. With a skeleton crew of Jumbos competing this weekend at the Jay Carisella Invitational hosted by Northeastern at the Reggie Lewis Center, the Tufts squad put up some respectable early December performances including a handful of lifetime PR’s.

Seniors Chris Brunnquell and Sam Read led the way for the team with two great early season marks. Brunnquell took nearly 10 seconds off his 5k PR as he qualified for the DIII New England and ECAC Championships this weekend. Additionally, captain Sam Read started his senior season with a bang. He cleared 14-11 (4.55m) on his third attempt and took three good looks at a national qualifying height of 4.70m.

Tufts also got to welcome back an old face to racing as coach Nick Welch took a step closer to full competition. Welch competed unattached this weekend in the 3k posting a mark of 8:51 after more than 1 year off from racing. Welch will rejoin the squad next semester as a full competitor. He has been serving as a graduate assistant for the XC team this semester. Additionally, sophomore Sam Haney (8:54) and senior Corey Melnick (9:10) each added their own PR’s in the 3k. Granted it was Haney’s first time running the event, he still posted a mark that qualified him for the New England Championships.

In the throws, freshman Atticus Swett led the way in the shot put with a toss of 42-2.75. It was Swett’s first competition with the 16# shot put, but he displayed some veteran comfort with the implement and should be a big part of the Tufts throwing contingent this winter. Joining Atticus with solid early marks was a pair of returning weight throwers. Junior Adam Aronson and sophomore Curtis Yancy each had quality days in the circle. Aronson PR’d by almost 4 feet with his toss of 45-10.75 (13.99m) while Yancy had the 2nd best meet of his life with a 43-7 (13.28m) effort.

Read’s PV and the throwers were not the only field event athletes to show off their fall conditioning. Sophomore Mike Blair matched his best jump last year as he soared over 6-4 (1.93m) in the HJ. He added a lifetime PR in the 55mH as he coasted thru to an 8.62. Fellow classmate, Gbola Ajayi will start off the 2011 season nearly 30cm ahead of his LJ opener last year. Kept to a short approach, Ajayi still posted a solid LJ opener along with his 44-1.25 (13.44m) TJ showing.

On the straightaway, freshman Daniel Lange-Vagle led the way for the jump hurdlers. His mark of 8.50 in the 55mH was a good start considering it was his first effort over the 42” hurdles. Sophomore Vinnie Lee was the top 55m runner coming off full season as a starting cornerback for the Jumbos. Lee clocked in at 6.79, a few hundredths ahead of his opener from a year ago.

Next weekend, a pair of rookie pentathletes will continue the Tufts season at the Bates Pentathlon looking to see where their fall training puts them. December meets are exactly that…December meets. Athletes are fit, but not sharp. Strong, but raw. With a little less than three months until indoor championship meets, the Jumbos return to work looking to turn that raw strength into fine-tuned explosiveness. Looking to turn that rough fitness, into a sharp, competitive edge. The pieces are there, now it’s time to start putting the puzzle back together.


Full Results