Sarah Crispin, women's track and field
Make room for one more on the laundry list of women's track athletes provisionally qualified for nationals. Crispin ran 5:03.36 in the mile at Yale during Friday's Trinity College Last Chance Meet, taking third in the race and provisionally qualifying for nationals.
Crispin narrowly edged out Coast Guard sophomore JoEllen Arons and Wesleyan senior Ellen Davis to take third in the mile and post a provisional qualifying time. Crispin, a junior from Auburn, Maine, is ranked 19th nationally, and has an outside shot of going to the event, which will be held at St. Olaf's College in Northfield, MN next week. Most of the runners ranked ahead of her are also qualified in other events and will probably choose not to run in the mile.
Crispin, who was an All-American last season in the 800, ran the mile on the Distance Medley Relay last weekend at All-New Englands as the Jumbos improved on their time for nationals. She ran 5:07 for the anchor leg of the relay as the team ran 12:01.14 and hold the seventh-fastest time in the country. Two weeks ago, Crispin broke the school record in the 1,000 meters, running 2:59.11 to break Colleen Burns' 2000 record of 2:59.6.
The Jumbos and Crispin will now prepare for next weekend's NCAA Championships in Minnesota.
Ryan O'Keefe, men's basketball
With his team-high 21-point performance, sophomore Ryan O'Keefe launched his team into uncharted territory in the NCAA tournament. A 68-65 win over SUNY Cortland landed Tufts in the Sweet 16, the largest postseason success they have ever experienced in the program's history.
Rebounding from a dislocated shoulder against Williams in the first round of the NESCAC tournament on Feb. 18, O'Keefe kept his team afloat in the first half with 10 points and four boards. The two teams went into halftime tied at 29 after the Jumbos jumped out to an early 17-3 lead. O'Keefe's three-pointer with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half gave his team a 14 point padding.
Later in the game, another three pointer from O'Keefe handed his team a double-digit 56-46 lead with 3:46 left in regulation. The sophomore guard finished the game with a game-high four three-pointers.
O'Keefe is the team's third leading scorer behind senior tri-captain Dan Martin and sophomore Jake Weitzen. His 21 points nearly doubled his season average of 12.1 points per game.
