For the second weekend in a row, the Jumbos welcomed their fellow New England track programs to the Gantcher Center Saturday for the Tufts Invitational.
The Jumbos sprinted by the competition, accumulating 205 points. Finishing second with 131 points, Bates was a mere speck in the rear-view mirror.
Freshman Nick Welch ran impressively in the mile, coming through with the win in 4:27.58. Freshman Ryan Lena and junior Dave Sorensen followed closely on his heels, with times of 4:30.76 and 4:32.76, respectively.
"I thought the meet went really great," distance coach Rob Hemingway said. "Nick Welch won his first collegiate race in the mile, and Ryan Lena [improved his time by] 13 second[s] in the mile as well."
In the 800-meter race, freshman Matt Tirell, who was competing in the event as a "training run," ran an aggressive and hard race. Tirell, returning after an injury, will become a more potent threat for the Jumbos as the season continues.
Once again, senior co-captain Fred Jones steadied his club, winning the long jump with 6.94 meters. Sophomore Fielding Pagel jumped 6.39 meters, good for third place, behind Worcester State's sophomore Matt Leeds.
"It's still early in the season, so I haven't reached my goals for this year yet," Jones said. "Still, I guess I'm satisfied for this early in the season."
Although unable to place anyone in the top two slots, Tufts monopolized most of the leader board in the triple jump, placing four people in the top ten. Also in the jumping events, sophomore Ted McMahan and junior Jeremy Arak finished first and second in the high jump, both clearing 1.91 meters.
In addition to success in the jumping events, the Jumbos took all of the top three slots in the 55-meter hurdles. Freshman Ikenna Acholonu, along with fellow classmate Jared Engelking, finished first and second, with times of 7.87 and 7.90, respectively. Senior co-captain David McCleary finished third with a time of 8.37.
"I had a setback earlier this year, so I think I ran well for where I am in my training," McCleary said. "We had a hard week of training this past week, so I'm very happy with the way this meet turned out...We've had two great meets so far. People on the team are working hard and getting along well. I'd say that most people are performing as well or better than I expected."
While senior leadership has played a consistent role in the Jumbos' success so far, a talented group of underclassmen is quickly becoming a force on the team. Kevin Bright, the team's graduate assistant, noted that runners Andrew Longley, Dustin Virgilio, Mickey Ferrey, Colin Fitzgerald, and Skip Pagel have all run well.
Coach Ethan Barron was a bit more reserved in his praise.
"The class of 2010 is a very dedicated, deep class, but there is a lot of track and field left in this season," Barron said. "It's really up to them how much impact they have this season."
The real test of this team will come at the championship meets in mid-February. There, the team will likely face arch-rival Williams for the first time this season. The team will use the meets they have scheduled over the next two weekends to prepare for the New England Div. III Championships at Bates.
"These hard weeks of training that we're doing now will begin to show their effects in the championship," Bright said.
The Tufts men can only hope that they've put in enough work to close the gap between them and Williams, a national track powerhouse.
