This weekend, men's track and field teams from around New England traveled to Medford for the third Tufts Invitational of the season. And for the third time, they watched the Jumbos win their own invitational -- by a point margin that wasn't even close.
The Jumbos competed against 10 other teams and racked up 186.50 points, obliterating their opponents. Stonehill College placed second with 106 points.
Although some athletes who had sat out last week at Bowdoin due to injuries returned on Saturday, the team was still competing without a few of their top competitors, who were ill. Other athletes picked up the slack, and mixed up the events in which they typically compete, showcasing the team's depth.
However, according to coach Connie Putnam, Tufts' score would have been even greater if the team's focus had been on winning as many points as possible rather than using the meet for training and experience.
"Overall on the weekend," Putnam said. "We performed as planned and met most of our objectives. We worked harder [this past week in practice], and let the guys train through [the meet] and run a little tired, but as you can see we were some 80 points ahead and we didn't need to taper down."
Returning from an injury-related absence, sophomore Jamil Ludd placed third in the 55 meter hurdles and 14th in the 200.
Sophomore Dustin Virgilio sprinted to second place in the 400 (52.99) and set an indoor career personal best.
Freshman Marcus Boggis placed third in the 55 dash (6.73) and qualified for Nationals in the process.
Senior Aaron Kaye placed second in the 800 (1:57.72) despite running over a second faster than his first-place finish in the 800 last weekend. It was a seasonal best for Kaye, and he would have run even faster if he hadn't been impeded by the race's hectic start, which slowed all the runners down in the beginning.
The best middle-distance outing for the Jumbos came from junior Trevor Williams, who won the 600 in 1:24.09, setting a personal best and coming close to the school record of 1:22.00, set by current senior Ray Carre last season.
Despite his personal achievements, Williams credited the team's overall performance as being the highlight of the weekend.
"What stuck in my mind was just being excited about a lot of the younger athletes stepping up," Williams said. "This year, a lot of the weight has been supported by the guys coming up, which is a huge deal for them because they have to adjust to the style of training and level of competition. They've done an amazing job."
It was no surprise to anyone that the long-distance runners, successful throughout this season as well as the cross country season, continued to excel.
Junior Matt Fortin, who was out last weekend with an injury, gave a solid performance in the 1000, finishing first (2:30.68) and outrunning a Stonehill competitor by a mere fraction of a second.
Although his performance was overshadowed by his teammate's victory, sophomore Ciaran O'Donovan ran an all-time personal best in the 1000 (2:34.48) and placed sixth.
"[O'Donovan's 1000] was one of the most uplifting races for me," Putnam said. "All day I was excited for him."
Senior Nate Brigham took the lead early and won the 3000 (8:33.82). Freshman Chris Kantos, unchallenged by the other runners, pounded out a victory in the 5000 (15:38.74).
Junior Matt Lacey kicked his way to a career best in the 1500 (4:00.15) with a second-place finish against top competitor Amherst senior Mike Page. In his first 1500, junior Patrick Mahoney ran a good race and finished respectably in eighth place (4:05.45).
A Tufts team consisting of Williams, freshman Nathan Scott, sophomore Nate Cleveland, and freshman Andrew Gordetsky outpaced twelve other teams in the 4x400 relay, finishing first (3:27.17).
Another Tufts relay team saw stiff competition in the 4x800 relay. The group, comprised of Kaye, Mahoney, Lacey and Fortin, battled a close race but ultimately finished second (8:01.83), only .28 seconds behind Amherst. In the last leg, Fortin, although charging hard, was slightly outkicked by Lord Jeff sophomore Sam Hayman.
The Jumbos produced strong outings in the field events, an area in which they have achieved mixed results throughout the season.
Junior Seth LaPierre, working to get back into top shape after a semester abroad, took first in the pole vault (4.35) and sophomores Justin Henneman and William Heitmann (who also set a seasonal best) took second and fourth, respectively.
The team's top jumper, All-American sophomore Fred Jones, did not compete, but freshman Nathan Scott placed second (12.75) in the triple jump.
Sophomore Ryan Byrne placed fourth in the shot put (14.30), and junior Jason Galvin took third in the weight throw (14.50) and set a seasonal best.
Freshman Jeremy Arak, in his first meet since suffering a concussion while competing in the hurdles at the second Tufts Invite on Jan. 22, was back in top form with a victory and a seasonal best in the high jump (1.95).
"It was tough sitting out the previous week, so I was excited to compete again," Arak said. "There was always the little bit in the back of my mind that was a bit tentative. But once I started jumping, I forgot about it."
This Friday the Jumbos will compete at the Valentine Invitational at Boston University and will then host the Tufts Stampede on Saturday. The following weekend brings the highly anticipated New England Div. III championships, which Tufts is also hosting this season.
