Tufts XC Captures First Win of the Season

(9/25/2004) See more Photos     Full Results

As can be expected every year, the Jumbo Invitation at Grafton was presented with a sunny day with the temperature hovering in the mid to upper 70s. Teams of note included NESCAC rivals Trinity and Amherst and National ranked Keene State.

Last year Keene State ran an exceptional race, running away with the victory over a young Tufts team. With Keene State looking for a repeat, a more experienced Tufts came out in full force for the first time this fall. In a complete turn of events, Tufts dominated the race placing all five of their scoring runners in the top 7, totaling a score of 22. Only Bridgewater of Keene and Sullivan of Trinity were able to displace the scoring five.

From the onset of the gun, All-American David Bridgewater took the early lead through the hilly fields. In a bold early move, junior Matt Fortin, caught the leader slightly after the mile marker, a move that would not be looked kindly upon by the unforgiving Farm Course. At two miles, the main Tufts pack, which had been lurking a few yards back, caught up. Senior Nate Brigham chatted a bit with rival Bridgewater before Bridgewater (1st - 26:03) took the lead for good with Brigham (2nd - 26:10) cruising a few seconds behind. The duo of junior Matt Lacey (3rd - 26:19) and sophomore Josh Kennedy (4th - 26:31) ran together in hot pursuit before Lacey broke away with a mile to go. Senior Brian McNamara (6th ? 26:49) made a move midway through the race to join the duo, but came up a little short and was later joined by Fortin (7th ? 26:49), who had been battling with Keene?s second runner. Rounding out the top 7 for Tufts were freshman Chris Kantos (16th ? 27:27) and sophomore Justin Chung (19th ? 27:47)

Running at full strength for the first time this year, the Tufts Cross Country team came out with a victory and some added confidence by placing 5 runners under 26:50 at the tough Farm Course.



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