Men's, women's track open season at Northeastern

On a Saturday in which most intercollegiate athletic events in the northeast were snowed out, the men and women's track and field teams managed to reach Northeastern's Reggie Lewis Center to open their winter seasons with the Huskie Winter Carnival.

The event featured competition between Division I, II, and III New England schools and is therefore a non-scoring event, meaning there is no winning team or ranking of schools at the conclusion of the meet. Instead, the competition serves as an opportunity for individuals to hone their skills in a competitive atmosphere, while not having to worry about the outcome for the team.

"It's a way to get everyone set for the season," senior men's tri-captain Adrian Clarke said. "There's no pressure. Especially for the freshmen, it's an introduction to what intercollegiate track is like."

In men's events, freshman Fred Jones was the story of the day, winning both the long and triple jumps and breaking the 29-year-old Tufts triple jump record in the process. Jones hopped, skipped and jumped his way to a 46'8" foot mark, eclipsing the 1974 title held by Mike Gorham (45'11"). In the long jump, Jones edged out the unaffiliated Luis Moreira by half an inch, 22'2.25" to 22'1.75" feet.

"[Fred] had a great day, he jumped almost 47 feet his first time in a collegiate meet," Clarke said. "He's all set to be amazing, and to have a great season."

Junior Nate Brigham, relatively fresh off the NCAA Div. III cross country meet held three weeks ago, put in a strong race in the 5000 meter event, placing second to Quinnipiac's Jeff Roginielewicz in 14:47.04 minutes.

The Jumbo men's cross country team also featured prominently in the one mile. Overall, Tufts claimed the fourth through ninth, and 11th, 18th, and 22nd placings. Freshmen cross country runners Daniel Sullivan (fourth), Scott Merrick (fifth) led the charge, with classmate Peter Orth (eleventh) rounding out the top end of the field.

Junior Ray Carre raced sixth in the 200 dash in 23.21 seconds, and fifth in the 400 (50.54), while classmate Nate Thompson leapt his way to a fourth place finish in the 55 hurdles (8.05). Freshman Nate Cleveland (1:59.50) was second in the 800.

In women's competition, the Jumbos placed in the top eight in the 13 of 15 events in which the team competed. Senior quad-captain Jess Trombly won the 500 meter run in a time of 1:16.25, three and a half seconds faster than the runner up, Northeastern's Natalee Pennicooke (1:19.75). Fellow captain and classmate Emily Bersin (1:21.74) finished seventh. Trombly shaved 0.66 of a second off her team-leading 500 meter time from last season.

Junior Claudia Clarke (1:22.00) and freshman Kate Makai (1:22.42) finished close behind Bersin in eighth and ninth place respectively.

Sophomore Rachel Bloom finished third in the 200 in 26.39 seconds, just over her career best mark set last year, while senior Shushanna Mignott (7.83) ran eighth in the 55 final. Junior Sika Henry was second in the 800 (2:23.74) and high jump (5-04.00 feet), while sophomore Rebecca Ades (18:34.05) shaved nearly a minute off her previous career best 5000 time to finish fifth in the event.

"It was a good opportunity for the team to compete in a meet where individual performance didn't affect the team as much," Ades said. "It was a good starting point."

The women also put in solid performances in the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays to finish second (4:04.27) and fourth (10:29.27) respectively, while seniors Jessica Gauthier and Gwen Campbell both finished in the top eight in both the weight throw and shot put.

The Jumbos will break for winter vacation, before returning to the track on January 11 at the Dartmouth Relays.

"It gives us confidence, having a race on the track," Ades said. "We train for so long before the first meet, so it's good to get [a race in]."