Steph Mcnamara and Amy Wilfert, women's cross country
Despite not being able to compete as a team, women's cross country sophomore duo of Steph McNamara and Amy Wilfert still took great strides at Saturday's NCAA Championship in Hanover, Ind.
McNamara capped off her season with style on Saturday, hustling to 11th place in 21:23.71 to garner All-American status for the second year in a row, while Wilfert captured 48th place with a time of 22:01 in her first experience at Nationals. McNamara's finish marks a significant improvement from last season's NCAA showing, where she finished 30th to earn All-American honors. Meanwhile Wilfert's time was just 15 seconds shy of All-American recognition this year.
The race marks a fitting end to McNamara's dominant year, in which she was Tufts' unquestioned leader on the course. She has won three races outright this year — the Trinity, Tufts and Planksy invitationals — and also did well in big spots, as she took second at NESCACs and fourth at All-New Englands Nov. 15. Her lowest finish of the year was a sixth-place showing at the Open New England Championships, a meet that featured competition outside of Div. III
Wilfert has also put together an exceptional season, finishing 11th at NESCACs and 14th at Regionals. Her highest placement of the year was third at the Tufts Invitational, though she also tallied fourth- and a fifth-place finishes at the Trinity and Plansky invitationals, respectively.
Although the women's cross country team had two runners participating in Nationals, the squad as a whole did not qualify. Middlebury won the Team Championship with a score of 179.
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Jon Pierce, Men's Basketball
Going into the men's basketball season, it was no secret that if the team wanted to perform well junior co-captain Jon Pierce would have to carry the load. He did exactly that, tallying 43 points and 26 rebounds across two games of the Roger Williams University/Courtyard by Marriott Tournament over the weekend. Supported by Pierce's impressive display, the Jumbos won both contests, with the junior co-captain playing impressively enough to garner Tournament MVP honors.
In the squad's first game against host Roger Williams, Pierce posted up 21 points and 10 boards en route to a 82-76 victory. The Jumbos' victory over the Hawks marked the 300th career win of coach Bob Sheldon during his 21-year tenure at the helm of the men's basketball program, as well as serving as the team's first victory of the 2008-09 campaign.
In the second game of the tournament, Tufts faced off against Western Conn. State University. Pierce stepped up once again, leading all scorers with 22 points and adding 16 rebounds, as the Jumbos easily overcame the Owls 89-74 to win the tournament. Despite being the focal point of the offense and leading the team with 68 minutes played in its two contests, Pierce showed his efficiency by committing only two turnovers throughout the weekend.
With these two victories, the Jumbos improved to 2-1 on the season. Their next game comes on Sunday, Nov. 30 at Brandeis, a team they lost to 89-87 last year.
