Men's Cross Country: Jumbos prepare for Division III National Championship Race

The men's cross country team will look to cap its most successful regular season ever with a strong finish at the NCAA Division III National Championship Race tomorrow in Hanover, Indiana.

Junior Nate Brigham, freshman Josh Kennedy, junior Brian McNamara, senior co-captain Peter Bromka, and sophomores Kyle Doran, Matt Fortin, and Neil Orfield will race for the Jumbos. Last weekend, that same group of runners captured Tufts' first ever New England title at Southern Maine.

Those seven, along with alternate sophomore Matt Lacey and coach Connie Putnam, flew out to Indiana yesterday morning. Many of their teammates drove out last night on a long road trip that will land them at Hanover College in time to cheer on their teammates.

Last year, the team failed to qualify for nationals, but Brigham qualified individually and advanced. He finished 11th overall in the nation to earn All-American status.

"It's really important to have a guy in your lineup who has been here before," Putnam said. "He knows how to run this kind of race."

"I'm really excited to go back with all the guys," Brigham said. "If we run like we did [at the New England Championship], we should be able to get a top six finish."

Such a finish would be a first for the Jumbos, who finished seventh in 1996.

In 2001, the Jumbos qualified for nationals, but bombed in the race, finishing 23rd out of 24 teams. They will look for some redemption tomorrow.

McNamara raced in that 2001 national race as a freshman, finishing 147th overall. After missing last season with a leg injury, he is as anxious as anyone to get back.

"We're definitely excited," McNamara said. "We feel we definitely belong here."

All year long, Tufts has won on the strength of close team running. That will be more crucial than ever tomorrow when the Jumbos find themselves in the midst of hundreds of unfamiliar runners. Putnam stressed the importance of closing the time between the Jumbos' first and seventh runners, and running with the proper balance of control and emotion.

"Generally speaking, I want the guys to run smart, intelligent races, and hold off on the emotion until they need it, which hopefully would be as late as possible," Putnam said. "But if there's a time to let loose, it's nationals."

Putnam expressed confidence that his Jumbos will be fresh and ready to go, mentally and physically.

"I think they've trained enough so that they're strong enough to overpower other teams," he said. "But once the gun goes off it's out of my control."