If its performance during the indoor season is any indication, the men's track and field team is in for a nice few months.
After a successful indoor season that culminated in placing 14th at Nationals on March 13-14, Tufts will commence its outdoor season tomorrow when it hosts the Snowflake Classic.
"I'm excited to see the balance that we had indoor transfer to the outdoor track," coach Ethan Barron said. "The team as a whole made a lot of solid improvement during the indoor season, and I'm looking for us to continue that growth over the next couple months."
The Jumbos will look to fill the voids left by important senior contributors last year both athletically and in terms of leadership.
"Losing a two-time All-American and someone who could range all the way from a national-caliber miler to a national-caliber 5k runner was a big hit," Barron said of Dave Sorensen (E '08), a two-time All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. "He did a lot for us both on and off the track. There were a lot of leaders in last year's class, so I'll be looking to see who is willing to step up and fill the leadership holes that these guys left."
"[It was tough to lose] Joe Brown (LA '08) for the throwing aspect because watching him was just a great learning tool, and we basically just watched him and imitated all of his moves," sophomore thrower Alex Gresham said.
This year, the team will look to younger athletes to step up and help reshape the team.
"[Freshman] Connor Rose should have a pretty big impact," junior Jason Hanrahan said. "He had a great first indoor season, so he should be able to move to outdoor and help us a lot. [Freshman] Ben Crastnopol should help in the 400, and the sophomores -- guys like [Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot and Chris Brunnquell] -- can build off of a strong indoor season to keep getting better in the 10k."
The Jumbos' biggest challenge will be the NESCAC Championships on April 25. Tufts claimed second in the meet last year, falling to Williams, which has a long history of strong team performances at NESCACs. The Jumbos tied the Ephs for first in their 2007 season. Getting over the hump will require a team effort.
"Tufts is less about those huge contributors and more about where we can step up as a team, who is going to be able to get a sixth, seventh, eighth at NESCACs," Barron said. "When you see who can step up here and there and get those little points, that's when the team does those amazing things."
"I always look for our best effort to come at the championship meets," he continued. "They might not be our best times, but we are doing everything in our power to have our best team effort at the championship meets, and that's a measuring tool we use to judge our season's success."
Indeed, knocking off the Ephs is one of the Jumbos' biggest priorities heading into the outdoor season.
"The team goal is basically going to be win NESCACs, like it is every year," Gresham said. "Every year we set out to win NESCACs and beat Williams because Williams is one of our biggest rivals, and they tend to win outdoor."
The Jumbos also look to qualify athletes for NCAAs. Last year, junior Jesse Faller ran the 5,000 meters at Nationals, accompanied at the meet by teammates Sorensen and Dan Marcy (LA '08).
"We'll try to do well at NESCACs and then have some people continue from there," Hanrahan said. "We have a lot of talent, so we have a lot of kids who have a good shot of making it to Nationals this year ... Jesse Faller's been there, as well as [senior quad-captain James Bradley]. [Junior Trevor Donadt] was right off on the bubble, and he's coming off of an injury this indoor."
And if all goes well for the Jumbos, the team can expect to continue the success it saw in the indoor season.
"If we can stay healthy, I think we have a really complete team right now," Hanrahan said. "We don't have many holes, and I think we can work off of a good indoor season. In terms of mid-distance, I think we're a lot deeper right now. Last year, we had a lot of kids battling injuries, but were looking strong now, so hopefully that can help us."
The Jumbos will look to shake the dust off their spikes and start the season strong on Saturday.
"This weekend, I am just hoping to see how all the workouts will help out the runners and jumpers," Gresham said. "I'd just like to see where everyone stands this week, and I'd like to see everyone hit their marks and start the season off with a bang."
