The men's outdoor track and field team recently stretched over the finish line of a strong season. Saturday, May 8, the squad competed in the 1999 New England Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Colby College. With a total of 23 points, Tufts placed 13th in the meet.
The team's low finish at Colby was due to its lack of experience and the general strength of the conference. Tufts was considered to be equally competitive as teams that placed in the top five, but could not capitalize on close races.
"They were racing juniors and seniors," sixteen-year veteran coach Connie Putnam said. "We were fielding sort of a JV team. They had the confidence of experience, and we didn't."
The results did not disappointment Putnam, however. "I thought we could have cracked the top ten," he said. "But we didn't get a lot of scoring from upperclassmen. The freshmen and sophomores did a great job, and 13th was all we could ring out of the team."
Some peak performances of the meet included sophomore John McGuire's fourth-place finish in the 800 meters. He won five points for his team with a time of 1:53.421 in the event. Junior Matt Lyons ran to a sixth-place finish in the 5000, crossing the finish line at 15:27.166 and tallying three more points for Tufts.
The 4x400 relay team also put forth a strong performance, finishing eighth overall. Freshman rookie Adam Barrer tacked on another four points with his fifth-place finish in the 400 at 49.82 seconds.
Sophomore David Patterson grabbed his usual first-place victory in the 3000 steeplechase with a time of 9:04.731. He gained a much-needed ten points for the Jumbos with his win. In addition, because of his superior performance, Patterson received the Elmer Swanson Memorial Award as the best running athlete of the meet.
Patterson remains undefeated in the event, and will compete in the National Championships this weekend.
"He was just fantastic," Putnam said.
The unforeseen absence of senior Rommel Childress also detracted from the team's success in the meet. "He could have grabbed a few more points for us," Putnam said, "maybe moving us up a few spaces."
From Thursday, May 13 through Saturday, May 15, members of the squad competed in the Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Maine, in Orono. McGuire was the only runner to score, turning in three points for the Jumbos. In the 800, he sprinted to a phenomenal time of 1:52.39, landing him a sixth-place finish. McGuire's performance at the meet made him as Putnam's fastest half-miler in his coaching career.
"He's only a sophomore, and that is just very promising," Putnam said.
Senior Jack Kovatch also performed well in the meet. He threw 51 meters in the hammer throw, which was his career best throw. Although he did not place in the meet, his throw moved him up to 19th place on the national list, a feat that shows the competitive nature of the New England meet.
Patterson did not participate in the meet, as Putnam wanted to rest him for the national championships this weekend. Kovatch and McGuire are also tentatively qualified for the meet, but entries were not finalized at press time.
"What we did the past few weeks, we did very well; we are just young," Putnam said. "I see some really good things on the horizon for next year. I am very encouraged."
