Logan Crane, Women's Track And Field
Sophomore Logan Crane's performance for the women's track team was clearly the focal point of the Tufts Invitational this past weekend. Crane finished first in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.42, a tenth of a second off the provisional mark. She also came in second in two other events, checking at a time of 26:50 in the 200-meter dash and a distance of 5.08 meters in the long jump. Individually, she led the team by scoring a total of 26 of Tufts' 186 points.
In addition to Crane, first-years Sarah Nolet and Allison Fechter and junior Veronica Jackson won their respective events. Nolet won the pentathlon, while Fechter took the victory in the pole vault and Jackson won the 5,000 meters. The Jumbos finished second of 11 at their first home meet of the season, with only UMass Lowell placing ahead of them. It was their highest finish of the year to date, though it was only their second scoring meet of the year.
Crane also played a role in the Jumbos' first scoring competition, the Dartmouth Relays, in which an incomplete Tufts lineup finished 13th of 25. Crane made it through two heats of the 60-meter dash to advance to the finals, in which she finished sixth with a time of 7.98 seconds. She and the Jumbos will look to continue to improve next week in the Terrier Invitational at Boston University.
James Bradley, Men's Track And Field
Junior James Bradley was a highlight of the Jumbos' victory at this weekend's Tufts Invitational. Bradley hit the NCAA provisional mark of six feet, seven inches in the high jump, making him eligible to compete in Nationals.
Bradley's early-season performance builds upon his performance from last season; the then-sophomore placed 13th at the 2007 NCAA Men's Outdoor Championships and 13th at the Outdoor Open New England Championships in the high jump. In indoor competitions, Bradley came in 12th in the 600-meter run and fourth in the high jump at New England Div. III Championships to go along with a 10th-place finish in the high jump in the ECAC Championships.
Bradley's NCAA-quality jump was the pinnacle of the team's performance, but the fellow high jumpers also excelled, as Tufts took 1-2-3 in the event on the shoulders of freshman Frank DeSalvo and senior quad-captain Jeremy Arak. With the help of the high jumpers and three running victories, the Jumbos placed first in a field of 12 in the first of the team's three home invitationals this season, with the other two to be held in February.
The Jumbos will next be in action at the BU Terrier Invitational this Friday.
