Men's track and field nab first at Silfen Invitational

Freshman Dave Clayton merely smiled in Carmichael dining hall when asked about the men's track and field's performance at the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College. His smile was well warranted as the track team won its first scored meet of the outdoor season. Tufts scored a total of 195 points, far in front of second place finisher Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (145.16).

"The meet was one of our final preparations for NESCACs (April 26-27 at Williams) and the championship season," senior tri-captain Greg Devine said. "We have this week to practice and the meet was a positive segue into this week and NESCACs. We are ready mentally and physically."

While Tufts was dominant overall, there were a few notable individual performances. Similar to Michael Jordan on the basketball court, sophomore Ray Carre used his speed to make his opponents look like the track version of Sam Bowie. Carre single-handedly scored 28 team points through his first place finishes in the 200 (22.98) and 400 (49.23)-meter races and his second place finish in the 100 with a time of 11.59.

"I knew by the weather alone it was going to be a good day," Carre said. "I felt really good leading into this weekend, so right from the jump I guess those two things had my head right for the meet."

Carre's day did not end with his individual performance as he, senior tri-captain Bryan Pitko, Devine, and freshman Trevor Williams combined for a 4x100 relay victory in the time of 43.29. The team's time is 1.29 seconds off the national provisional qualifying mark. Following that race, freshmen Shawn Hansberry and Patrick Mahoney joined Williams and Carre to bring home another relay win in the 4x400 title after 3:23.70 of racing. Both squads earned ten team points toward the Jumbos' total.

"With work on our handoffs in the 4x100 we can put it down as the fastest squad in NESCAC, but we have to put in the time and get them smooth," Carre said. "In the 4x400, I think we have a good shot at pulling first at NESCACs this weekend. The field doesn't look too menacing."

As usual, Devine and Pitko had productive outings, pushing each other to a photo finish in the 110 hurdles. Pitko crossed the line with a time of 15.08, edging out his teammate, Devine (15.09), by .01 seconds.

"It was just another race," Devine said. "I go out to win every time I compete. If I have to lose, it might as well be to a teammate."

Sophomore Nate Thompson was not a part of the photo finish, but he did place third in a time of 15.63, also collecting six team points.

Unlike the 110 hurdles, Devine would not be denied in the 400 hurdles. He cruised to a first place finish in the event after 54.22 of racing, just .22 seconds shy of NCAA provisional qualifications.

While Carre left his mark in many of the sprinting races, the distance component of the squad completely dominated the 1500 race. Six of the race's top nine finishers were Jumbos, with five of them scoring points for the team.

Senior tri-captain Adam Sharp (4:03.32) led the pack of pachyderms with a second place finish. Sophomore Peter Bromka (4:05.16) and freshman Matt Lacey (4:05.50) followed Sharp with third and fourth places respectively. Freshman Kyle Doran (4:07.73), and sophomores Aaron Kaye (4:08.01) and Brian McNamara (4:08.41) finished seventh, eighth, and ninth.

Playing the human horse, junior Peter Jurczynski captured the 3000-steeplechase title and ten team points for Tufts. Jurczynski (9:47.50) was the only competitor to finish the race under ten minutes.

Freshman Seth LaPierre took home first place in the pole vault after propelling his body over a bar sitting 4.42 meters from ground. Freshman Will Heitmann placed fifth in the event, while junior Adrian Clarke took six after both vaulted over the height of 4.13 meters.

"This is the first year in a long time that we have a dedicated squad, and the work is really paying off," Clarke said. "Hopefully at NESCACs and Div. III's we can deliver for our team."

Devine and Pitko did not narrow themselves to the track component of the team, as both also took part in long jump as well. Devine snatched second place in the event with a 6.31-meter jump. Pitko did not fare as well, but did score four team points after a leap of 6.13 meters. Sandwiched in-between Devine and Pitko was Thompson. He finished third in the event with a 6.22-meter jump.

Continuing to work on his form for triple jump, Clayton earned a third place finish with three bounds that combined for 12.76 meters. Thompson (12.53 meters) registered an eighth place finish in the event.

Sophomore Dan March led the throwers with a second place finish in the hammer throw. After a 47.50-meter toss, the future seems bright for March as there were no competitors his year or younger to place in the top eight.

Freshman Brandon Udelhofen took sixth in the discus, but scored four team points because the winner of the event did not represent a college.

All in all, the team was happy with its performance. The timing for a quality meet could not have been any better, as the squad travels to Williams College this weekend for the NESCAC championships. Last season, the Jumbos scored 117 team points to finish in third place, well behind Williams, who scored 216 points, and slightly behind Bowdoin (137.5). However nice a top three finish would be for the squad, Devine and the Jumbos have much higher expectations.

"We are out to win it," Devine said. "Top three is nice, but why settle for something less than first?"