Hoover-Hankerson Long Jump Highlights ECAC Meet

(5/26/2015 8:51 PM) Full Results

The Jumbos made the trip over to the Western half of Massachusetts for the final meet before NCAAs, the ECAC championships at Springfield College. With many athletes turning their attention to summer training (or graduation, for most seniors), the squad was light but still took some quality performances on the day.

Senior co-captains Marshall Pagano and Brian Williamson closed their careers at the meet, in the steeplechase for Marshall and tossing the hammer and shot put for Brian. While none of the marks were season or career performances, their efforts through the season, and the past four years, have certainly shaped and inspired the younger Jumbos that have followed.

Capping a tremendously successful junior year, Bryson Hoover-Hankerson provided the highlight of the meet in the Long Jump, as he PR'ed to move him up the top ten all-time for Tufts (6.81m). He came in as the very last seed - 32nd of 32 - but ended up in 12th place to pass a full 20 athletes he was seeded to finish behind. Sophomore Ptah Osayande also closed strong, as he ran a season-best in the 400m hurdles to break 56 seconds as well as massively outperform his seed.

The points for the group came in the 4x400m relay, as the foursome of Nick Usoff, Mitchell Black, Alex Kasemir, and Drew DiMaiti finished runner-up with a time of 3:16.56. All four return next year, looking to add an outdoor 4x400m qualifier to their indoor trip to NCAAs this past March.

Up next for the group will be the NCAA championship in Canton, NY, hosted by St. Lawrence. The squad will again be small (Mitchell Black) but the team is excited to support and put an exclamation point on another great year for the Jumbos!


Full Results