Luke adds another all-time performance as Jumbos place 3rd of DIII teams at Opens

(10/12/2015 11:15 AM) Full Results

On Saturday the Jumbos competed in the Open New England Championships held at Franklin Park in Boston. The team ran exceptionally well all across the board. Junior Luke O’Connor led the way finishing sixth overall for the squad with a blazing time of 24:45.95. Not only was Luke the second fastest DIII finisher in his race, but his time was the fifth fastest ever for a Jumbo at Franklin Park. Luke earned himself a spot on the list ahead of XC All-American Matt Rand and 3-time XC All-American Jesse Faller. Luke’s classmate Tim Nichols was the teams second finisher, placing fifteenth overall in 25:11.67. For Luke and Tim to place in the top 15 is the best Jumbo duo since 2005 when our top finishers were 5th and 15th.

Senior co-captains James Traester (25:52.63) and Michael Curley (26:05.73) were the third and fourth finishers for the squad. Freshman phenom Christian Swenson also had a great day as he rounded out the top five for the varsity team with a time of 26:08.56. Junior Michael Caughron continued his impressive season with another stellar performance. Michael was the teams sixth man in 26:11.99, PR’ing by a minute and 33 seconds from last year's race.

Senior Mitchell Black (26:21.61) and sophomore Sam Little (26:27.14) finished 1-2 for the Jumbos in the sub-varsity race. Their performances earned them both spots on the roster for the NESCACs. Behind Mitch and Sam was the freshman duo of Matt McDermott and Brian Djerf. They both ran big PRs as Matt finished in 26:30.29 and Brian came through in 26:34.17. Brian’s time was actually a lifetime best by a minute and 14 seconds. Overall, five freshman PR’d by over 40 seconds which proves that all of their increased training has been paying off. Senior Nick Adams also had a very strong showing in the sub-vasristy race. Despite battling with injuries over the course of the season, Nick ran a very smart and successful race, coming in at 26:58.63.

Next weekend, the Jumbos will compete at the Connecticut College Invitational. The squad will be resting the runners who intend on competing at NESCACs. The meet will be particularly exciting because the top finishers will have the opportunity to be a part of the roster for both NESCACs and ECACs. #LETSGOTUFTS


Full Results