Entering the season, the men's indoor track and field team was left with a gaping hole in its lineup thanks to the graduation of all-everything Fred Jones (LA '07). But the Jumbos seemed to have confidence that one member of the team in particular could fill the void.
"I don't think it's possible to fill Fred's shoes, but when you look at Dan Marcy, who was injured last year, he's looking really good," senior quad-captain Nate Scott said at the beginning of the season. "I think he's going to be the one to pick up where Fred left off."
Scott's prophecy rang true over spring break, as the senior quad-captain Marcy scored a national runner-up finish in the triple jump at NCAA Div. III Championships on March 14. Marcy's second-place finish tallied eight points for Tufts, tying the team for 25th place in the nation and earning the Middletown, N.Y. native the second All-American honor of his career.
Marcy last participated in Nationals during his sophomore season, and a hamstring injury derailed his bid to return there last year. The battle to get back to form this season makes his accomplishments all the more impressive, and for Marcy, satisfying.
"It feels really good," Marcy said. "One of the things I was worried about last year, after I got hurt and competed a little bit during the outdoor season, was how well I'd be able to jump again. I wasn't sure I'd be able to return to the shape of sophomore year.
"This has to do with the coaching staff and the weight trainers," he continued. "They put together a great program that helped get my hamstring back into shape. I jumped even farther than before I got injured. It feels great, and now I'm just looking forward to outdoor season."
Seeded fourth after his jump of 48 feet, 2.5 inches at the ECAC Championships, Marcy bested that performance after just the first flight of preliminaries, jumping 48 feet, 4.5 inches. That mark was the best of Marcy's season and career.
"I would say that it comes from the coaching staff knowing how to keep the athletes well and knowing what parts of the year to hit the training and weights pretty hard," Marcy said. "They know how to peak us at the right time. The goal of every athlete is to have their best performances at the later parts of the season. For most people on the team, that was the case."
Marcy's preliminary mark placed him second out of nine qualifiers for the final. Still, he knew he had to keep up the intensity to be able to reach that distance again.
"I felt like I had a pretty good chance of hitting it again," Marcy said. "I was very happy with it at the time, but I wasn't complacent. I knew it would take another really good effort."
Marcy matched the distance on his third jump, giving him three chances to tie or better the distance of Fisk University freshman Kamar Jones, who reached 48 feet, nine inches. But Marcy fouled on all three attempts.
"My fourth and fifth jumps, I don't think either of those two were close to his or my best," Marcy said. "My last jump was closer. It was definitely the best of the three fouls, but I don't know if I would've won it on that jump or not. I went up there, tried my best and came up a little short. But I'm still really happy."
Also competing at Nationals were senior quad-captain Dave Sorensen in the mile and junior James Bradley in the high jump.
Sorensen's time of 4:17.52 was fourth in preliminaries, but he slowed by a couple of seconds in the finals, finishing with a time of 4:19.29. That placed him ninth out of 10 competitors - just one spot away from earning All-American status, which went to the top eight finishers.
Bradley, who was tied with two others for the final qualifying mark of the 13 competitors in the high jump, did not make it to the finals. He, along with two other competitors, could not clear the opening height of the meet.
