The men's cross country team used a strong team effort to earn its first ever NESCAC Championship on Saturday at Middlebury.
Tufts placed runners in the seventh through tenth spots and another in 14th to accumulate a score of 48 points. That was enough to hold off runner-up Williams (57), which placed runners first and second overall but couldn't match the Jumbos' balance and depth. Amherst (89), Colby (130), and Bates (135) were the only other league rivals to place within 100 points of the Jumbos.
Tufts' top five runners, who finished only fifteen seconds apart, were all named All-NESCAC by virtue of finishing in the top fourteen. Freshman Josh Kennedy finished first on the team and seventh overall in 26:54, while junior Nate Brigham (26:57) was also able to sneak across the finish line in under 27 minutes. Sophomore Kyle Doran took ninth overall at 27:02, followed by junior Brian McNamara just two seconds back at 27:04, and sophomore Neil Orfield, who finished 14th overall with a time of 27:09.
Sophomore Matt Fortin (27:24) and senior co-captain Peter Bromka (27:25) finished 21st and 23rd, respectively, while junior Mike Don, senior Pete Jurczynski, sophomore Matt Lacey, and freshmen Peter Orth and Daniel Jones also ran for the Jumbos. All 12 Tufts runners finished before any other team's seventh man did.
"Because Williams had the top two it was a little nerve-racking while we were waiting for the scores to be posted," senior co-captain Jon Rosen said. "But our whole squad ran great, and we got the job done."
Bowdoin had won the last two NESCAC Championships, while Williams had claimed the seven before that. The Jumbos finished second four times during that span and had never won in the race's 21 year existence.
"We've been so close to Williams so many times and finished second so many times, even with great teams," coach Connie Putnam said. "I've had some sad rides home [from NESCAC's]. This was a pretty satisfying ride home."
Tufts came in as the favorite this time, and the victory was its to claim. The Jumbos managed to do so, despite an off-performance by usual top gun Brigham.
"It was kind of ugly for me personally," Brigham said. "But the team pulled together and it all worked out in the end."
Tufts controlled the race at the start and found itself sitting on an early lead. However, when Williams' 1-2 runners Neal Holtschulte and Matt Winkler pulled ahead and Brigham was unable to run with them, Putnam was a little worried.
"At first the team responded badly to Nate not making a move," he said. "The guys looked unsure of themselves up through 3.5 miles. But they pulled together, and I think Josh and Brian really helped Nate."
Brigham agreed that his running mates helped him through a rough stretch just past the middle of the race. "I was moving backwards in the pack, and then Josh and [Brian] Mac passed me, and Mac said 'Nate, we're losing,'" Brigham said. "I was able to get up with them and run with them for awhile, and then I led Josh through the woods and then he surged ahead."
The squad's surge over the last mile and a half secured the victory.
"We were doing pretty well until we ran into a Jumbo," Williams coach Pete Farwell said.
When asked if he was referring to a particular Jumbo, he said, "no, just their pack, running together. Our one and two guys ran great, but Tufts passed and broke up the rest of our guys. They have a great team and they are really deep."
It was this depth that saved Tufts on a day when Brigham felt he didn't quite do what was expected of him.
"I should have been further up front to break up Williams' 1-2 punch, but that's what a team is all about," Brigham said. "No one can compete with our depth, and every week different guys step up."
"Even though it wasn't the prettiest race, it's kind of nice that we didn't do it with one individual running an amazing race," Putnam said. "We did it the hard way, as a team."
"Nate's better than a lot of guys who beat him," McNamara added. "I know he wasn't 100 percent, but it's a testament to the rest of our pack that our top guy has an off day and we're still able to come away with a win."
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