The Gantcher Center was extra busy this weekend, playing host for the Tufts Pentathlon Friday night and Tufts Invitational II on Saturday.
With just two weeks remaining before championship season begins, many Jumbos used the non−scoring meet as a chance to hit New England qualifiers.
In a meet far bigger than Tufts Invitational I, four members of the squad captured third place finishes. Freshman Benji Hansen took third in the 3,000−meter run among 39 competitors. He crossed the line at 8:57.92, nearly 12 seconds faster than his previous personal record set at Springfield two weeks ago.
"I was really happy with my race," Hansen said. "I went out hard with the group and got in a good place. The second [1,000−meter] was a little slow, but then I kept working my way up the pack and really picked it up the last 800 meters."
Just a few seconds away from the Div. III qualifier of 8:55, Hansen will look to cut his time down this weekend.
"It's going to be a really fast race this weekend, so I plan to just tuck in behind some of the fast guys and just hang on and let them carry me through in a fast time," Hansen said.
Junior Connor Rose added a third−place finish in the 1,000−meter run among 33 athletes, crossing the line in 2:33.46, less than a second behind the winning time.
On the field side, senior co−captain Sam Read tied for third in the pole vault, clearing a height of 14−5 1/4, while sophomore Gbola Ajayi took third in the long jump with a distance of 21−1 1/4.
Tufts' throwing squad had an outstanding performance Saturday, led by a fourth−place finish in the weight throw among 36 athletes by junior Adam Aronson. The throw of 50 1/2 was a personal best by nearly a meter and qualified Aronson for the ECAC Championships.
"I was very happy with how I threw. It was really good competition," Aronson said. "I just like to keep pushing forward and take it one meet at a time and see where everything goes."
In the shot put, sophomore Curtis Yancy and freshman Atticus Swett both secured fourth place. Yancy came in with a distance of 44−5 1/2 among 34 competitors and Swett with a throw of 44−3 1/4.
"Overall we had a great day in the throws," Aronson said. "Curtis threw very well in weight, qualifying for New Englands, and he did great in shot. Atticus did great and qualified in the shot for Div. IIIs, which is huge for a freshman. [Senior] Alex Gresham also had a season personal record in weight. We are looking forward to New Englands in a couple of weeks to see if we can do something great."
Another strong performance on the track came from freshman Liam Cassidy in the mile run. Cassidy finished fifth among 52 athletes. His time of 4:21.50 is the fastest by any Jumbo this season.
On Friday night, three Jumbos competed in the Tufts Pentathlon, which includes the shot put, long jump, high jump, 60−meter hurdles and 1,000−meter run. All three qualified for Div. III New Englands in their first competition of the season. Sophomore Michael Blair finished third among seven competitors, scoring 3,057 points. Freshmen Andrew Osborne and Daniel Lange−Vagle, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in their first collegiate pentathlon, supported Blair in the meet.
The Jumbos will be split between two meets this weekend — the Valentine Invitational at BU on Friday and Tufts Invitational III in Gantcher on Saturday. Many athletes will look to finish their seasons on a high note this weekend, while others will search for final qualifiers for New Englands or will be resting for championship season.
"I think the team is looking really [good] all across the board," Hansen said. "We are so deep within the distance squad, and the 3K next week is just going to be really phenomenal."
Hansen expects some impressive team results on a notoriously quick BU track.
"Guys are going to start tapering and then going hard this next weekend," Hansen said. "BU has a really fast track, so we're going to be able to see some really fast times out there."
