Despite tough competition, the Tufts men's track team had what it considered a successful weekend, competing in its first meet of the season at the Northeastern Husky Track & Field Carnival.
Although the Husky Carnival is always a non-scoring meet, it serves as an indicator of the athletes' level of conditioning.
"I thought this weekend went very well," Coach Ethan Barron said. "I was very pleased. We were really solid across the board."
The competition at the meet was diverse, including fellow NESCAC team Amherst, as well as a variety of schools from Div. I to Div. III, including Boston University, Northeastern, Wentworth and UMass-Lowell.
Tufts' main emphasis at the meet was on the sprinters, as many distance runners are still resting from cross country season. Although the Jumbos had no entries in the 5,000 meter run, six runners competed in the 3,000 meter run, with top Tufts finisher senior Matt Fortin coming in with a time of 8:56.74.
"It was more of a sprinter's day," Barron said. "It was more of a time trial for the distance runners that weren't resting so we can gauge where they are."
The 400 meter dash was a strong event for Tufts, with six Tufts runners finishing with a time under 53 seconds. Senior tri-captain Trevor Williams was the fastest Tufts runner, finishing second in his heat in 51.54 seconds.
"We had some very good performances out of the sprinters," Barron said.
The hurdlers at the meet - junior Jamil Ludd, senior David McLeary and sophomore Jeremy Arak - ran solid times, all finishing below 8.60 seconds. Ludd finished fourth in the fastest heat of the event with a time of 7.99 seconds, very close to his personal best.
"All three hurdlers ran well," Barron said. "I believe that all three were nearing their personal bests."
While the personal best time is a good measurement for an athlete to trace his own improvement, at an opening meet like the Husky Carnival the coaches are looking not for personal bests but for season starting points. Comparing the starting times for this season to those of last season reveals areas which have improved and those which still need work.
"We had a lot of kids finish better this year than their starting point for last year," Barron said. "That means that many athletes will be far exceeding their personal bests by the end of the season."
Despite the notable absence of junior long jumper Fred Jones from the competition, the team's jumpers also had a successful meet. Sophomores Kenneth Kang and Jacob Fromer turned in solid performances with jumps of 6.04 meters and 5.96 meters respectively.
The high jump trio of Arak and freshmen James Bradley and Ted McMahan were a lethal combination, with all three finishing in the top ten in a field of 23 jumpers. Arak finished fourth with a jump of 1.93 meters, while Bradley and McMahan both finished with jumps of 1.88 meters.
"I was impressed with the high jumpers," Barron said. "All three jumpers jumped over 6'2", which is notable for Tufts track." Though the meet did not include a javelin throw, Tufts had three throwers - juniors Tyler Groff and Vincent Galatro and sophomore Joe Brown - competing in the weight throw event. Brown, Tufts' top finisher, ended with a throw of 11.73 meters.
"[The Husky Carnival] is a good foundation for the rest of the season," Barron said. "We performed well in every aspect at the meet, from sprints, hurdles and jumps to distance and throws."
