Lowell Invite Yields Stellar Marks

(4/11/2011 10:34 AM) Full Results

With what felt like the first real day of spring in New England, the Jumbo track and field squad took full advantage of the favorable weather by posting a number of impressive performances at the George Davis Invitational hosted by UMass Lowell. The unscored meet boasted solid competition from all divisions and numerous Tufts athletes came away with PR’s as a result.

With warmer temperatures and a favorable tailwind, the long jumpers took full advantage and posted a slew of PR’s to kick off the competition. Sophomore Gbola Ajayi led the way with his leap of 22-9.75 finishing 2nd place overall. Backing up Ajayi in the finals was the pair of juniors Alex Orchowski (21-4.75) and Ben Crastnopol (21-0.5), each PR’s. Additionally, decathletes Andrew Osborne (20-10) and Michael Blair (20-7.25) added their own PR’s to the till.

From there, the Jumbo throwers took over with their own string of strong early season performances. Sophomore Curtis Yance (138-6) and freshman Atticus Swett (125-11) both improved on their previous marks. Similarly, senior Alex Gresham got back over the 50m mark in the hammer throw with his heave of 166-2 (50.64m), less than 3m from a national qualifier.

Moving to the track, the quartet of Ajayi, Vinnie Lee, Dan Lange Vagle, and Jordan Dietrich ran the squads first 400m relay of the season. With conservative hand offs, the team clocked in at 43.97 for a respectable early season mark. The team looks to defend last spring’s first place finish at the NESCAC Championships.

Sophomores Kyle Marks and Sam Haney each clipped off marks of 4:06 in the 1500m. Haney continues to move back towards his 4:09 1600m leg from the indoor season while Marks tunes up for some later season 5k races. Also, 10k runner, Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot added a PR of 4:08 demonstrating that he’s more than just a 10k runner.

As the day moved on and the spring temperatures dropped, so did the gusting winds. Afternoon warmth became the chill of dusk and the weather soon became ideal for an evening 5k. Five Jumbos would take full advantage of the favorable conditions. Freshman Liam Cassidy closed in 4:44 for a new PR of 15:11. Scott McArthur (15:16), Chris Brunnquell (15:23), and Brian McLaughlin (15:28) joined Cassidy in qualifying for the NESCAC and New England Championships. Freshman Benji Hansen (15:37) added his own PR and NESCAC qualifier.

Next weekend the Jumbos will compete at the MIT Invitational across town as they look to continue to cut time and add distance to their performances. With only two weeks remaining until the NESCAC Championships, each weekend becomes an important opportunity to step up and put together a great performance.


Full Results