The indoor season for the men's track and field team is officially over, but unlike many of Tufts' winter athletes who can enjoy some time off, the Jumbos are simply taking their running shoes outside for the outdoor season and jumping right back into intense competition. And if the results of the indoor season are any indication for how the outdoor season will progress, the outcome looks strong.
"I think it was a really successful season in terms of the age of the team," coach Connie Putnam, in his 21st year as head coach, said. "In terms of the way we performed during championship season, school records and All-American performances, it was among our best."
"We scored in three events at the NCAAs," Putnam added. "That's a first. Most importantly, we brought six All-Americans back [from Nationals]. That's very unusual."
The season ended on a high note at Nationals. In one of the year's highlights, sophomore Fred Jones tied his career-best mark to place second in the long jump. Senior Nate Brigham took eighth in the 5K and the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team also placed eighth.
It took awhile to get there. The indoor season was long, starting back in December, and the Jumbos had their fair share of struggles throughout. Athletes battled the winter flu and other various injuries, struggled to get in shape after semesters abroad, and faced tough competition in the NESCAC.
The first meet the Jumbos competed in during the indoor season was the Husky Classic. In this non-scoring meet, junior Matt Lacey and sophomore Fred Jones provisionally qualified for the Nationals in the 5,000 and the triple jump, respectively.
After training hard over winter break, the team opened 2005 with a bang. The Jumbos beat eight other teams to win their first Jumbo Invitational, and then 11 other teams to win the second Jumbo Invitational. They ultimately won their third Invite for a sweep of all the home scoring regular-season meets.
A DMR team consisting of senior Brian McNamara and juniors Trevor Williams, Patrick Mahoney and Matt Fortin made some noise at the Boston University Terrier Invitational when they competed against tough Div. I, II and III competition and finished in a time of 10:07.02 to provisionally qualify for Nationals and set a new school record for Tufts indoor track (previously 10:10.85, set in 2001).
The DMR team, with senior Aaron Kaye replacing an ailing McNamara, then attempted to improve its time at the St. Valentine's Invitational. The team ran a 10:01.33, which pushed them up in the National rankings and rewrote the record books once again.
The Valentine Invite proved to be an important meet for Tufts, as Brigham qualified for the 5K (14:36.59) and Lacey improved his qualifying time (14:43.43) as well.
One disappointment for the Jumbos was the New England Div. III Championships. Although Tufts dominated in the long-distance events, Williams out-shone the Jumbos in the sprints and won the meet for its second consecutive year: an upset considering Tufts' talent. The Jumbos took second, and Jones set a career best and school record in the long jump with a mark of 7.24.
"We wanted to do a little better at the New England Div. III Championship meet at home," Brigham said. "We wanted to win. But because we didn't accomplish everything we wanted to accomplish in indoors, we're looking at it as a stepping stone for oudoors."
"We need to fundamentally give the young sprinters a little more confidence," Putnam said. "I think they're talented, we just need more experience. We [also] need more sprinters on the squad, but we're very satisfied [with the team's current sprinters], they've worked hard, and by next year they should be quite good."
At the Open New England Championships at Boston University, Kaye ran a 2:28.93 in the 1,000 and broke the record of 2:29.332 set in 1982 by Paul Murray, capping off a successful season.
"We only got beat in head-to-head competition by MIT during the regular campaign," Putnam added. "And then we were second at New England [Div. III's]. That's always good to stay in the top three at Div. III's, and we only lost that meet by a smidgen. By and large, it's as good of a season as we've ever had."
At the end of the regular season, many Jumbos sat on top of the rankings in New England Div. III. Jones led in both the triple and long jump, Brigham was first in the 5K and Lacey was third, and Fortin was first in the 1,000 (2:30.68). The standings reflect another strong season for the distance program.
"Lacey is probably the most consistent 5K guy in the years I've been here," Putnam said. "He put down more under-15:00 performances than anyone else in the history of the program."
"Fred Jones, from the standpoint of leadership and team presence, he certainly did a great job in the jumps," Putnam added. "In terms of middle distance, Trevor Williams and Aaron Kaye did a good job. We had some great performances from a freshman, Nate Scott, in that realm [as well]."
With a group of talented underclassmen, the Jumbos have plenty to look forward to this spring and next year.
"We had a lot of good performances form the young guys," Brigham said. "There are definitely a few seniors leaving on a high note, like Aaron Kaye. We were excited to see how he's emerged as a middle-distance star. It was a really good season, something to build on for outdoors."
