With one meet already cancelled due to rain this outdoor season, the Tufts men's track and field team wasn't about to let the weather ruin their day again. At the Dartmouth Invitational in Hanover, N.H., the Jumbos fought through the rain to record several personal records and qualifying times.
"It was horrible weather," assistant coach Ethan Barron said. "The temperature wasn't bad, but it was constant rain." Barron added that the meet coordinators probably didn't think of canceling the meet as it was the last qualifying meet before NESCAC championships for many of the participating teams.
As a result of the rain, the track events were kept outside, but most of the field events were shifted indoors. "It's hard for the athletes to run well like that," Barron said.
Despite the rain, Tufts performed well in several events. "It's very impressive [to have] so many good performances, especially out of sprinters in weather like that."
Sophomore Jamil Ludd ran a personal record 15.53 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles. Sophomore Mickey Ferri ran a personal record as well, finishing in the top five in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes, with times of 11.38 and 23.09 seconds, respectively. In the 400 meter dash, sophomore Dustin Virgilio ran a personal record time of 51.73 seconds, besting his previous record by nearly a full second.
Senior Ray Carre also performed well in the 200 and 400 meter dashes. Carre ran a time of 23.01, good for a fourth place finish, in the 200, and a 50.14 second time in the 400, good enough for fifth place.
In the 5,000 meter run, sophomore Josh Kennedy won the event with a time of 15:02.10 seconds, a personal record for him. Kennedy also performed well last weekend in the 3,000 steeplechase event.
Junior Matt Lacey ran in the 1,500 meter run this weekend to help tune-up for his 5,000 meter race this Thursday at Penn Relays. Senior Nate Brigham and Lacey will run at the Penn Relays because of their times at the Hillside Relays two weekends ago in the 5,000. Brigham and Lacey are currently in first and second place, respectively, in Div. III NCAA for the 5,000.
In the 800 meter run, sophomores Nate Cleveland and Ciaran O'Donovan both ran sub-two minute times with a 1:58.89 and 1:59.17 respectively.
"The fact that I can run a sub-two in that weather makes me feel like I can really perform next week at NESCACs," O'Donovan said.
Barron said that one of the purposes of the event was to give the track team more options for events in which to place athletes for the NESCAC championships next weekend in Waterville, ME. This week the coaching staff will sit down and submit Tufts' placements to the NESCAC coordinators.
In Saturday's meet, the coaching staff placed eight runners in the 200, several of whom ran the event for the first time this year.
"There was a bit of intrasquad competition in the 200 for bragging rights," Barron said. In the end senior Ray Carre placed fourth in the event and best among Tufts runners with a time of 23.01 seconds, .08 seconds ahead of Ferri.
Next week the Jumbos turn their attention to NESCACs, where they will look to unseat reigning champion Williams College. Williams has won the NESCAC championship 11 of the past 12 years.
"Basically four teams are vying for NESCACs," Barron said. "Tufts, Williams, Bates and Middlebury" Barron said that, depending on the weather and how the lesser teams do, the Jumbos should have a good shot.
"If it was weather like this weekend, the playing field gets leveled. It takes the bell curve of running and squeezes it to make everyone middle-of-the-road runners," Barron said, "If the weather or our efforts make it a meet of guts, then it's about guts and courage, and we've got a good shot of making it out on top."
Sophomore Dan Sullivan is confident about Tufts' chances.
"It'll be 11 of the past 13 years once we're done with Williams," he said.
