Tufts Takes 2nd Place at Division III NE's

(5/6/2006) Full Results

All the Jumbos walked into the New England Division III Championships with one goal in mind, performing at the highest level. The result was an unanticipated second place finish. Once again, Williams College won the meet with an overwhelming 153 points. Tufts earned the runner up spot with 64.5 points, just edging out MIT by 1/2 point.

This meet was a story of season bests, gutsy races, 7th and 8th place finishes, and luck. Unfortunately, this meet falls right in the middle of final exams for the Tufts athletes. Consequently, some team members have to forego the meet. Also, most of the distance runners rested this weekend in hopes of running to fast times next weekend. Tufts had only two entries in events longer than 400 meters.

Sophomore Derek Engelking started the meet in his first collegiate Decathlon. On Day 1, Derek had good showing in the Long Jump and 400 meter Dash. Derek ended the first day in fourth place. On Friday, Derek shined in the 110 Hurdles, the Javelin and 1500 meter run. He was able to hold on fourth place with an overall score of 5438.

This was the first co-ed meet in New England Division III Championships history. The schedule was amended accordingly. A few athletes joined Derek in competition on Friday. Fred Jones and Kenneth Kang took to the runway in the Long Jump. Kenny had a best jump of 20-05.75. Fred placed fourth with a jump of 22-06.25.

Also competing on Friday were the Hammer throwers. Captain Jason Galvin led this group as he has all season. Jason placed third overall with a throw of 175-09. However, the most impressive throw of the day came from Sophomore Joe Brown. Joe extended his PR by more than seven feet with a throw of 153-09. His throw qualified him for the ECAC Championships to be held at Springfield in two weeks.

Not everything went to plan though. The Jumbos struggled in the other throwing events in which they were entered. The Javelin and Discus were not strong events as no points were scored in either event. However, when a team member has difficulty, another will step up to compensate.

The importance of earning those seventh and eighth places was shown today. In the pole vault, Seniors Rob Lorie and Timothy Bassell did just that. Both vaulters were able to clear 13-3. Five athletes were tied at this height. However due to misses Rob and Tim were relegated to 7th and 8th place, earning an all important 3 points.

At the same time on another runway, three athletes were competing in the triple jump. Sophomore Nathan Scott earned a fifth place finish with a good jump of 44-9.75. Fred Jones and Dan Marcy both placed in the top three. Fred jumped to an outdoor season best and NCAA provisional mark of 46-8 for third place. Dan set an outdoor PR and improved his provisional mark as well. His jump of 46-9.5 was good enough for second place--one centimeter off the winning jump.

The next race on the track was the Steeplechase. Chad Uy was the lone entrant for Tufts in this event. Chad ran well and placed eighth, earning yet another point that would prove crucial.

The 4x1 relay was next. Nate Scott who just finished the triple jump was having problems with his hamstring. Without many bodies at the meet, the Jumbos scrambled to find a replacement. Kenny Kang who competed on Friday, traveled to the meet on Saturday to support his teammates. When asked if he could run the relay, all he asked for were some spikes and a speedsuit. The squad of Jones, Kang, Trevor Williams and Mickey Ferri ran to an eighth place finish.

The rain which was present from the beginning of the day passed and the sun came out just in time for the High Jump. James Bradley had a solid clearing 6-1, and barely missed 6-3. His 6-1 jump earned him a tie for seventh and 1.5 points. Jeremy Arak had big expectations for himself, and was able to meet almost all of them. After a shaky start, he was able to clear 6-5 on his third attempt. He clinched the victory with an outdoor School Record jump of 6-7. Jeremy nearly punched his ticket to nationals but just missed at 6-8.25.

Immediately following the High Jump, James Bradley took the track for the 400. He was joined by junior Dustin Virgilio. Although neither athlete scored, each ran a fast time. In the first heat, Bradley ran to a PR of 51.12. In the following section, Dustin ran his second fastest 400 ever in 51.05.

The 800 provided the most exciting race of the day for Tufts. Last week at NESCAC's Patrick Mahoney placed third, directly in front of two Williams College runners but behind two more. This week, Pat found himself in a familiar position, among the leaders with 200 to go. However this time, the athlete in white and blue moved in front of the purple mass to take the victory in a personal best time of 1:53.91.

The meet announcer read off the team scores with only the 4x4 relay to go. The Jumbos were surprised to hear that they were in third place and just 3.5 points behind MIT. The Tufts athletes lined the track to support Mahoney, Virgilio, Bradley and Williams. The foursome were able to place fifth while MIT did not score, giving the Jumbos second place by the narrowest of margins.

From here on out it's all individual. Next weekend, a few distance athletes will compete against the best runners on the east coast at the IC4A Championships hosted by Princeton University. Meanwhile, others will make the short trip to MIT for the All New England Championships.



Full Results