Jumbos Compete at Bowdoin

(2/1/2012 9:09 AM) Full Results

Years ago, the dual meet in collegiate track and field died. In some ways, racing for competition died with it. Meets have become more about hitting big times than simply beating the people lined up beside you. This weekend marked the best of both worlds for the Tufts Track & Field team. With a handful of athletes across town at BU looking for some PRs, the bulk of the squad headed north to Bowdoin College for some great competition. And after a slew of competitive races, they traveled home with an avalanche of PRs as well.

With the varsity 7 from XC and the 4x400m team at BU, the door was opened for a number of Jumbos to step up and shine. And that they did. Kicking the day off was the men’s one mile, where all three athletes posted impressive PRs. Senior Jeff Prescott negative split his way to 4:23 while sophomore Bobby McShane (4:25) and freshman Joe Poupard (4:31) each clocked in at new personal bests as well.

This momentum went straight into the men’s Triple Jump where junior Gbola Ajayi landed an indoor PR of 45-8 (13.92m), good enough for second place. Later in the day, he would add another second-place finish with his jump of 22-3.5 (6.79m) in the Long Jump. Also in the jumps, sophomore Trevor Rothaus continued his strong season, making it three weeks of PRs in a row as he soared over 14-11 (4.55m) in the vault. He placed 3rd in the event just behind teammate Brad Nakanishi's clearance of 15-1 (4.60m).

Back on the track, a pack of Tufts 3k runners notched up great days as they each inched closer to new barriers. Sophomores Jake McCauley and Benji Hansen each ran 8:51, narrowly missing the ECAC qualifier of 8:50. Freshman Sam Garfield (8:56) and junior Luke Maher (8:57) each missed the 8:55 mark for DIII New Englands by 2 seconds. Meanwhile, freshmen Nick Guarnaccia (9:00), Colin McCrory (9:01), and Cyrus Cousins (9:02) have their eyes set on shattering the 9:00 barrier in their next 3k. Each of these performances set a new personal record for the athlete.

Capping off a great day all around for the squad was a pair of impressive relays. Coming back from open events, Adam Brosh, Andy Phillips, Alex Schifter, and Prescott put together a solid 8:11 in the 4x800 for second place. The 4x400m added a third-place finish of their own as Lawrence Xia, Kevin Norman, Aaron Roseman, and Wylan Simpson battled their way around the track with Springfield and Colby.

It was a great day to rejuvenate the competitive fire that will drive the squad through championship season. When you add that desire and determination to the performances at BU earlier in the day, it will be exciting to see what this Jumbo squad can accomplish when all the parts are assembled.

Looking ahead, the team will suit up at their second home invitational next weekend for the Tufts Stampede.


Full Results