The men's track and field team was split between two meets this weekend, with one squad traveling to Maine to compete in the Bowdoin Invitational and another staying in Boston for the Terrier Classic at Boston University (BU).
At Bowdoin on Saturday, the Jumbos came away with four victories and 30 collegiate personal records.
"We did exactly what the team needed to do at this point in the season," Coach Ethan Barron said. "We were lacking a certain amount of energy and grit in some of the earlier season meets, and I saw a different team at Bowdoin — one I was looking forward to seeing at some point during the season. If we can keep up that focus and support from here on out, I think we'll impress ourselves and shock some other teams."
On the track, freshman Brian McLaughlin won the 3,000-meter run in a time of 8:52.89, among 18 competitors. Classmate Daniel Lange-Vagle also came away with a victory, finishing the 55-meter hurdles in 8:51.
Off the track victories came in the weight throw and the pole vault. In the weight, the trio of senior Alex Gresham, sophomore Curtis Yancy and junior Adam Aronson went 1-2-3, respectively; Gresham won the event with a toss of 47'1.50".
Tufts also took the top two spots in the pole vault, as senior co-captain Sam Read won with a height of 14'5.25''. Sophomore Brad Nakanishi took second, clearing the same height on a later attempt.
Sophomore Gbola Ajayi had a pair of second-place marks in the jumps, reaching 21'2.5" in the long jump and 45'0.5" in the triple jump.
The Jumbos' middle-distance squad added three second-place victories of their own. Junior Connor Rose returned from injury to take the runner-up spot in the 600-meter run in a time of 1:23.91. Freshman Jamie Norton took second in the 1000-meter run in 2:32.14, while sophomore Sam Haney came back after a strong performance at BU the day before to take second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.18.
"We still have a long way to go, but so does every other team in New England," Barron said. "Every successful team that I've seen and worked with has had a certain level of fire, mutual respect and desire, and I was happy to see that starting to come into form this weekend up at Bowdoin."
Highlights from Friday's BU meet included the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team, which opened the weekend with a bang, finishing seventh. Tufts was the second-highest finishing Div. III school team in the race, with the top five spots all going to Div. I and II teams.
Freshman Bobby McShane led off the DMR with the 1,200-meter leg, followed by junior Ben Crastnopol in the 400, sophomore Jeff Marvel in the 800 and Haney in the 1,600. The squad crossed the line in 10:12.82, missing the NCAA provisional mark of 10:09.00 by just a few seconds.
"It was a good early-season performance for them," Barron said. "Those were some of the fastest races those athletes have run up until this point this season. They are capable of that and more, without a doubt. I think they are on the verge of something big."
For the second day of BU events, a slew of Jumbos competed in the 5,000-meter run. Sophomore Matt Rand led the pack, placing 33rd among 113 competitors in a time of 14:58.15, just five seconds over the national provisional qualifier time of 14:53.00.
"I was happy with my race," said Rand, whose goal was to go under 15 minutes. "I knew that I was racing against guys who were faster than me, and I knew it was going to go out quickly, and I really just wanted to see how I could handle that quick pace to gage my fitness level right now. … I was able to do that, so I was happy.
The heightened level of competition, Rand believed, affected his performance.
"If I were in a slower group, I would have run a more balanced race and possibly a faster time, but I think with the level of the competition in the heat, I started much faster than I probably should have," he said.
Supporting Rand in the race was classmate Kyle Marks, who finished in 15:15.18, a personal indoor record.
With just two more weekends before championship season begins, the Jumbos will host the Tufts Invitational II on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
"I think a lot of people are pretty optimistic about what we can do at New Englands," Rand said. "The depth that we have — especially in the 3K right now — is some of the best that we've had in recent years here. The throwers have been doing well; they've been at the top of the results at most meets. I think we are progressing pretty well and should be contending for a top spot at New Englands."
