Distance medley relay Team, Women's Track and field
The foursome of senior tri-captain Sarah Crispin, juniors Kaleigh Fitzpatrick, Katy O'Brien and Cat Beck were up to their usual antics this weekend, narrowly trailing Wisconsin-Platteville for a second-place finish and setting a school record in the process. The time of 11:35.54, which is almost six seconds faster than their converted qualifying time posted at the banked track at Boston University, was just a little more than a second away from Wisconsin-Platteville's winning time of 11:34.46. The race was a two-team show, as the third-place team finished a whopping ten seconds after the Jumbos.
The second-place finish earned the four Jumbo runners All-American honors. Crispin, Beck and Fitzpatrick are not strangers to the All-American honor, while O'Brien earned the status for the first time. In addition to the second-place finish and All-American status, Beck earned another honor this week. The U.S Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association handed out awards to eight different regions for the indoor season last week. Following up her first-place finishes in the mile and the 3,000 meters at New Englands on Feb. 17, Beck received the Women's Track Athlete of the Year honor for the second year in a row.
Fred jones, men's track and field
Senior tri-captain Fred Jones concluded his indoor career with a pair of second-place finishes in the long and triple jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships held in Indiana Friday and Saturday. Making his seventh-consecutive NCAA appearance, Jones' best leap of 23 feet, 11 3/4 inches in the long jump bested his own indoor personal record by nearly three inches, and his triple jump mark of 48 feet, 8 1/4 inches destroyed the school record by eight inches, and was his best indoor performance since his freshman year. The second-place triple jump finish was Jones' best-ever finish in the event at the indoor championships. What is even more remarkable about Jones' performance, is that he came into the meet seeded fourth in the long jump with a mark of 23' 8 1/4" and ninth in the triple jump at 47' 3 3/4".
The sole Jumbo representative at the championship, Jones scored 16 points in the competition and carried Tufts to a seventh-place finish overall -- the highest of any New England team at the meet. Lincoln University won the meet with a total of 59 points. With his sterling performance, Jones earned the eighth and ninth All-American honors of his track career. Jones will look to continue his sucess in the field events this spring, which will be his last season in a Jumbo uniform.
