The Tufts men's track and field team has its hands full this weekend, competing in meets at Boston University today and at Bowdoin on Saturday. Following their victory at the Tufts Invitational II this past weekend, the Jumbos feel prepared to face the upcoming competitions.
"There is a lot of energy all around," coach Ethan Barron said. "The balance between the sprints, distance and field events is great to see."
The BU meet pits the Jumbos against top-notch Div. I teams, including the University of Michigan and the University of Texas. Only select athletes are running in today's competition. Tufts' all-star roster includes senior tri-captain Matt Lacey and the other three members of the Distance Medley Relay (DMR), senior Matt Fortin, sophomore Chris Kantos and freshman Will Forde.
"The DMR team is aiming to provisionally qualify for Nationals," senior tri-captain Trevor Williams said. "Matt is also running in the 5K race, so he won't be competing at Bowdoin."
Tufts will not field a complete squad at either meet, although some runners competing in today's meet will return and run different events on Saturday.
The team will see more familiar competition at Bowdoin, vying against several other NESCAC squads as well as MIT. Williams, the team currently in the Jumbos' crosshairs, will not be among those participating.
"Williams has a really strong team," Trevor Williams said. "They are one of our biggest rivals, and they typically like to see Tufts once or twice at the beginning of the season and then not again until championships."
NESCAC has traditionally fielded strong teams in the sport, and Tufts, Williams, Bates and Middlebury have been among Div. III's top programs in the region.
"Bates is unusually strong this year," Williams said. "However, I feel like our chances are good. On paper, we're slated to be amongst the strongest challengers in the championship."
The Jumbos have constantly had their eye on the prize, training tirelessly last semester and over winter break.
Williams commented on the team's highly successful run since returning from winter break.
"This is a young team and we have a lot of young talent." he said. "I want to go as far as we can this season because the more exposure these guys get to top levels of competition, the better off the team will be in the future."
Barron also highlighted the payout his team is seeing, a result of an early January return to campus and several weeks of intense practice schedules.
"We've been putting in steady work and seeing regular steady growth," Barron said. "The rest over the first half of winter break benefited us. Our bodies needed to adapt to last semester's hard effort. The athletes that have returned from fall semesters abroad have also given us a boost."
The recent additions have also injected new life into the sprint side of the team, often viewed as the weaker half of the program in comparison with the distance runners. With both running categories looking strong, Barron will look to fill some of the remaining holes in the field events.
"Before, we never had much impact in the 55-, 100-, and 200-meter sprints," Williams said. "Now the biggest deficit is in the pole vault. Some upperclassmen who were in the event decided not to participate in track this year. We're recruiting specifically to fill that gap, though."
The team's strengths and weaknesses will be challenged this weekend, and the results will give the Jumbos a barometer as championship season approaches.
