O Connor's victory propels Jumbo depth to 2nd at Bowdoin Invite

(9/16/2014 12:03 PM) Full Results

On a cool early September day, the Jumbos traveled north to open the racing season at the Bowdoin Invitational. In what will certainly be the smallest meet of the season, they faced off against 5 other teams from around the region: Johnson & Wales, Maine Maritime, University of Maine Farmington, Lyndon State, and hosts Bowdoin College. Tufts took second place in the race, falling only to Bowdoin who had a strong performance on their home course.

The performance of Sophomore Luke O’Connor was the highlight of the race for the Jumbos, as he took his first collegiate victory in a personal best time of 25:39. O’Connor showed his strength in the final stages of the race, opening a 12 second gap on the rest of the leading pack over the final mile and a half of the race. His race earned him his first ever NESCAC Performer of the Week award, and is a great sign of things to come from him and his training partners the rest of the season.

The second pack of Tufts runners also executed their race plan very well, starting at a conservative “tempo” pace and moving up throughout the race. With 9 runners finishing faster than 26:32, the Jumbos showed impressive depth. Junior Michael Curley took charge of the second pack through the tough middle section of the race, pulling his teammates up through the field and placing them in position to fight with the leaders in the last mile. He also ran himself to an 8k PR. Seniors Colin McCrory and Joe St Pierre and Junior James Traester also opened their seasons with lifetime bests at the 8k and first time appearances in the team’s top 7, showing that their strong summer training has taken them to a new level.

Five Jumbos made their collegiate cross country debuts on Saturday, with several strong performances. John Greenberg led the charge for the Freshman class, in a very strong time of 27:00. In the past 4 years, only four Tufts runners have debuted their college careers in a faster time. Not far behind were fellow freshmen Sam Little and Ty Enos, who had to battle most of the 5 mile race by themselves due to the small spread out race. The Jumbos also welcomed Junior Nick Adams, who has struggled through injury for much of college, and Sophomore Chris Warren into the fold, and it will be exciting to see how they progress as they become more familiar with the event.

Tufts will take next weekend off in order to prepare for the Purple Valley Classic at Williams College on September 27th, which will feature many of the top contending teams in the region. We look forward to seeing you there!



Full Results