Tufts Sixth at New England Championships

(10/8/2004) See more Photos     Full Results

Facing their first championship meet of the season the Tufts University Jumbos saw an opportunity for a breakout race. Ranked sixth in the country heading into the All-New England Championships, the team looked to make the jump to elite status among the region's division one and two programs. A year ago the team tied their best finish ever, placing ninth behind breakout performances by Nate Brigham and Josh Kennedy. Besting the record finish would be the team's goal heading into Friday afternoon, as sights were set on a top five finish.

Temperature at race time was roughly 70 degrees, and many runners could feel the weather start take hold of the race early. Starting slow, the Tufts University pack rolled through the mile in 4:50-53. Holding back at the line, to avoid a "swing too hard" mistake, the jumbos sacrificed time and places early, in favor of a furious kick at the end. Moving up over the next four miles was the duo of Nate Brigham and Matt Lacey. Finishing one-two for the second race in row, the two passed over twenty athletes in the second half of the race to finish 20th (25:18) and 21st (25:18) respectively. Lacey appeared to be Tufts top finisher for the third time in his Tufts career, but in the chaos of the finishing sprint relinquished his position to Brigham. The two resume their season long battle at the NESCAC championship in the coming weeks.

Also placing for the jumbos was super-senior Peter Bromka who finished 52nd (25:53). After a disappointing finish at the Jumbo Invitational, Bromka rebounded by scoring third for the jumbos. Matt Fortin and Josh Kennedy finished 15-20 seconds behind Bromka placing 65th (26:07) and 69th (26:12) respectively. The team finished with 227 points, good for sixth place overall. Providence won the meet with a low score of 25 points, followed by Boston College (159), Maine (181), New Hampshire (186), and Quinnipiac (208). Tufts finished first among division three schools, as Williams College placed 10th with a score of 316. Tufts also bested the areas top division two programs, beating UMass Lowell and Stonehill College.

Tufts will focus on their training for next three weeks, as they prepare to defend their NESCAC title at Colby College. Next week the squad will travel to Maine to run at Twin Brook Park, site of the Jumbo's regional championship race.

Written by Nate Brigham, Class of 2005


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