The men's cross-country team began its season this past weekend, hosting and racing in the annual Hayseed Classic. The race was held on the farm course at the veterinary school in Grafton. With a second place finish, the Jumbo's were able to start the season on the right foot, losing only to Division II Bentley College.
Leading the Jumbos into second place was sophomore Nate Brigham, who crossed the line in third place overall, with a time of 27:25.5. He was ten seconds behind the winner of the race, Lou Raffetto of Bentley College.
"I took time off this summer, so I really have only been training for six or seven weeks," Brigham said, "so it felt really good to race well."
Coach Connie Putnam's strategy for this race was to keep it controlled. The strategy was to race in packs that could be used to break up runners from other schools, such as Bentley. This is part of a new overall season strategy of alternating controlled races with harder races. The purpose of this is to keep the athletes rested for the important competitions.
"We were sticking to the plan for about the first two miles, but then we didn't cover a move that the Bentley kids threw at us," Brigham said. "I was the only one who stayed with them."
Brigham is one of the underclassmen that the team is looking at to fill the shoes of former front-runners, and graduates Ben Smith and JR Cruz. In his first appearance this season, it seemed that Brigham rose to this challenge, staying with the top finishing runners from Bentley.
Putnam's strategy worked well for the team on Saturday, as the next eight Jumbos to cross the line finished in two packs of four. The first to come in were Jonathon Rosen (27:47.6), Neil Orfield (27:48.8), Mathew Lacey (27:57.9), and Michael Cummings (28:09.8). They finished in eighth through eleventh places, respectively. The next group was in at sixteenth through nineteenth place; Peter Jurczynski (28:37.0), Zachary Chrisco (28:40.0), Ryan Phill (28:42.5), and Louis DeLesia (28:45.6).
This year's younger team appears to be starting off at the same pace as last year's nationally competitive team. In this same race last year, Tufts finished fourth out of six teams, losing to both Bentley and Bates. In that meet, however, some of the team's stronger runners did not compete. This was because of the team strategy last year, which alternated groups of runners competing in each race. While this kept the team rested, it often left the team lacking a runner who could break into the top group of finishers and propel the team forward in the standings.
With the new plan in place for this year, the runners will still be rested, but the team will still have their top runners competing in each race. Another benefit is that the team will be able to bond by racing together, as opposed to being in separate groups.
Historically the Jumbos haven't used the Hayseed Classic as an all out competition. Being the first race of the season, it is often used as an opportunity to build team strategy and conserve energy for the important races. This was especially the case this year as Bates was the only team Tufts faced on Saturday that was a NESCAC competitor.
Next weekend at the Dartmouth Invite however, the Jumbos expect to see some more intense competition. This will force the runners to race harder - running full out as opposed to keeping a controlled pace.
"I am really looking forward to next weekend," Brigham said, "where the race will be an all out competition."
