If the men's cross country team winning its first NESCAC title was the cake, the icing on top came after the race when coach Connie Putnam was named the 2003 NESCAC Coach of the Year, according to senior co-captain Jon Rosen. The award is voted on by the other coaches in the league.
"It was cool because after they announced that we won, they announced his award," Rosen said.
Although the coaches voted after the race, the honor wasn't bestowed on Putnam merely on the basis of the Jumbos' victory.
"For the women, the coach who won wasn't from the team that won," Rosen said. "So this is about the work he's done the whole year."
Putnam deflected all praise that came his way.
"The award doesn't matter to me at all," he said. "It really doesn't matter. What matters is what the kids accomplish; that's what it's about."
Putnam chose to focus on the Jumbos' first ever NESCAC championship rather than the award.
"All the hard work it took for them to finally break through and beat Williams; that's what I'm proud of," Putnam said. "The top five, everyone else who ran, all the other guys who have worked hard all season and cheered on Saturday, even the guys who design the website to help recruit. It's everyone's win."
* by Ben Hoffman
More from The Tufts Daily
