Jumbos Finish 2nd at Springfield Invite

(1/30/2011 8:47 AM) See more Photos     Full Results

Saturday marked the first time in Tufts history that the Jumbos have competed at the Springfield College indoor track & field facilities, host to this year’s New England Championships. The squad came away with a 2nd place finish behind a deep MIT squad that brought consistent energy and battled throughout the day. Tufts left with a number of solid performances under their belt, having taken another step forward, but still a ways off their season long goals.

It was a young squad that suited up for the Jumbos with only six non-freshmen or sophomores competing this weekend. Amongst those upperclassmen was senior, captain Sam Read who nearly matched his PR vault of 4.55m. Sam was backed by sophomore, Brad Nakanishi who equaled Read’s mark of 4.55m. Nakanishi narrowly missed his attempts at a nationally qualifying height of 4.70m. First years David Sutherland and Trevor Rothaus each added collegiate PRs of their own with the latter qualifying for the New England Championships.

Super-senior Nick Welch continued his return to form with his 1st mile race in over 2 years. Only a few seconds off his PR, Welch is gaining momentum with every strong workout and race he puts under his belt. Out pacing Welch thru the mile was a trio of underclassmen fresh off stellar XC seasons. Sophomores, Kyle Marks and Matt Rand each ran 4:29, a lifetime best for Rand. However, stealing the show in the mile was rookie Jamie Norton who kicked home for a 4:28 from the unseeded section and a 3rd place overall finish. The term rookie is very accurate in this case as it was the first track race of Norton’s life.

Later in the day, fellow freshman, Ben Wallis also undertook a first time effort with his maiden voyage in the track 5k. Wallis ran with veteran poise as he moved up through the pack and closed with strength to post a 15:23. Classmate Liam Cassidy ran a gutsy, fiery race but faded some in the final half. Both athletes made big jumps in racing IQ with their first efforts in the distance.

In the sprints, sophomore Vinnie Lee continues to outpace his freshman year that saw him finish 2nd and 3rd at the NESCAC Championships in the 200m and 100m respectively. His 6.75 qualified him for the New England Championships and was good enough for a 6th place overall finish. Other solid performances from the sprints included Gbola Ajayi (6.90), Ben Crastnopol (6.92), and Graham Beutler (23.69).

Adding to his PR in the 55m, Ajayi also added a collegiate PR in the long jump narrowly missing a New England qualifier by a mere 2cm. His jump of 21-1 was an 8-inch improvement on last year’s indoor season. Freshmen Andrew Osborne and Kobe Boaten-Adusei each added their own collegiate PRs to the mix.

With January nearly complete and the championship meets of February around the corner, the Jumbos look to fine tune their technique and increase their speed and explosiveness. With such a young squad able to take the 2nd spot at the Springfield Invite, it’s obvious that the future of the Tufts T&F team is in good hands. Looking to add in the rest of the talented junior and senior classes to the mix, these next few weeks will be critical to the current campaign of the Tufts harriers.


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