At last year's annual Jumbo Invitational, the men's cross country team squeaked out a one-point victory over NESCAC-rival Amherst. This year, the team was not as fortunate.
The Jumbos were not able to keep their home winning streak alive Saturday, finishing second in a three-team race against Bowdoin and Bates. The loss was Tufts' first at the Jumbo Invitational in four years.
"We didn't quite perform up to what we expected," said senior tri-captain Dave Sorensen, who finished fourth. "It was a bit hot out, and we were disappointed in our only home meet of the year. It wasn't the outcome we wanted."
Sophomore Jesse Faller paced the Jumbos, finishing in third with a time of 27:12, one second ahead of Sorensen. Freshman Greg Pallotta finished 10th with a time of 27:44, and sophomore Nick Welch, who lead the Jumbos last week at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, clocked in at 28:04, good for 14th.
"My legs were not quite as full of energy as last weekend," Welch said. "It wasn't the best day, and I'm certainly looking to tweak things, and we're all trying to put the right preparation into our workouts and meets. We had a little bit of a tough week. We don't really rest for these meets, and I think I felt the effects of our workout this week."
The Polar Bears emerged from the race victorious, as sophomore Thompson Ogilvie overtook Faller toward the end of the race to finish first with a time of 27:04. Bowdoin senior quad-captain John Hall finished six seconds behind Ogilvie, rounding out the one-two punch that would give Bowdoin the win.
The deep Bowdoin team soundly defeated the Jumbos and Bobcats, placing seven runners in the top 13 for a team score of 26. Tufts was a distant second-place finisher with 49 points, while Bates brought up the rear with 54.
With the All-New England Championships two weeks away, Tufts looked to employ a conservative strategy much like it did last week.
"We had a plan not all that different from Dartmouth," Welch said. "Our main idea was to run a conservative first two miles and then try to move up from that point. And that became even more important because it was hot, and on those days you can't have a taxing first couple of miles. Overall we ran pretty well, similar to other weeks when some had solid races and some were not feeling great."
The heat and humidity seemed to have an effect on the Jumbos and their conservative strategy.
"The weather seemed nice when we were warming up," Sorensen said. "But when we got to the third mile, the heat started to affect us."
The conditions of the day not only hindered the Tufts squad, but also the entire field. Times for everyone were much slower than previous years at the Jumbo Invitational.
"It felt pretty bad, at least to me," Welch said. "But it's the same weather for everyone, so in the end, it doesn't make a huge difference. The times were not great today. I know that my time last year when I finished sixth was faster than the winner today. But it wasn't anything historic, just a little bit warmer."
With their only home meet of the year complete, the Jumbos now look ahead to next week and the Keene State Invitational.
"For Keene, it's a weekend in which a lot of our top seven usually take the race off," Welch said. "I think that will give us a chance to recharge the batteries since these four weeks have been pretty tough. It will be a welcome break."
The Jumbos look for senior tri-captain Chris Kantos to return from injury next week as well, in order to be prepared for All-New Englands. And while the results from the Jumbo Invitational were not what the team would have liked them to be, the runners still feel prepared for the championship races coming up soon.
"We're in a good place I'd say," Sorensen said. "A few of the top runners aren't racing next week, but the younger runners are going to so they'll get some experience. We're still on track for where we want to be."
