Jumbos speed to first place

The men's cross country team got a preview of the course where the NCAA New England Championships will be held on in November last when it competed at Westfield State,. If the way that the squad ran there this weekend is any preview of how it will perform, Coach Putnam has every right to be excited.

Trying to establish itself as a contender for one of the four spots that New England has to send teams to Nationals, the team finished first out of 27 teams at the seventh annual James Early Invite at Westfield.

Tufts (72 points) acquired first place by displaying its usual consistency from the top of the pack, as the team's top five finishers all were among the first 25 to cross the finish line, a feat only the Jumbos achieved. MIT (85), US Coast Guard Academy (108), Trinity (149), and Colby (162) rounded out the top five behind Tufts.

Nate Brigham, now entrenched as the number one runner for the team with three straight finishes in the top spot, finished sixth overall with a time of 25:29.90 on the 5 mile course. Junior co-captain Peter Bromka (11th place) ran impressively for the second consecutive week with a time of 25:46, with freshman Matt Lacey (13th place) finishing just 11 seconds behind him at 25:57.20. "My plan from the start was to run with Peter as long as I could" Lacey said.

"I lasted for about three and a half miles and then I held on for dear life until the end."

Junior Ian Joseph, who has been coming on strong with top five finishes on the squad in the last four meets, sped to a 26:09.70 time and 17th place, while Neil Orfield finished at 26:36.90, good for 25th overall. Mike Don continuing to improve during his rehabilitation from injury, finished sixth, and junior Peter Jurczynski completed the team's top seven.

"I don't like to brag, but we ran a superb race," Putnam said. "We've come just about as far as I've wanted us to up to this point."

As an added bonus, the team got the opportunity to find its footing on the course where they'll run to qualify for the NCCA Division III Nationals. The team overcame a tricky turn about 350 meters into the race and didn't flinch at the brisk early pace encouraged by the course's layout.

"We definitely picked up some confidence scoping out the course" Jurczynski said.

Keene St., Williams, Bowdoin, and Bates, whom Putnam considers the four strongest Division III teams in the region, did not compete, but Tufts demonstrated that it could have a legitimate chance at hanging with the top echelon of schools. By defeating virtually all other major New England challengers, the team proved that it is the leader of the rest of the pack of contenders. This pack includes Coast Guard and MIT, both of which have been ranked higher than Tufts in the polls, and both of which fell to the Jumbos on Saturday.

"If something goes wrong [for one of the top four teams], and we run a perfect race, we could be right there with them" Putnam said. "We need to be like a good snake, coiled and ready, so we need to focus and improve with practice."

Despite the fact that the Jumbos occupied seven of the race's top 33 spots, the squad still needs to close the gap between them to be more successful. On Saturday, the team ran the first through seventh runners across the finish line in a span of about 1:14, compared to their season average of about 1:03. Putnam wants to see that number drop to about 40 seconds.

"But Nate can't slow down for that to happen," Putnam cautioned. "The other guys have to speed up."

The team has a bye week before hosting the NESCAC championships on Nov. 2.