After finishing an impressive sixth out of 25 teams at Div. III New Englands in Springfield last weekend, the men's track and field team will be looking to build on its promising early season performances this weekend at the All-New England Championships, which includes all of Div. I, II and III.
Although an overall team win is unlikely, the meet — one of the last of the season — represents a prime opportunity for many members of the team to set new personal records (PRs) before time runs out.
"It's one of the best chances for PRs, because it's a championship meet with unbelievable competition," coach Ethan Barron said. "We're not necessarily going for a team title, but it's one of the best individual meets of the year."
Several members of the team are looking to keep up their strong performances at Div. III New Englands, at which Tufts captured five top-five finishes overall, including sophomore Sam Haney placing third in the mile and sophomore Matt Rand placing fourth in the 5,000-meter event.
"I don't really like to pick out individuals," Barron said. "But anyone who can qualify for this meet is capable of doing some pretty impressive things."
The field team will look to use the strong competition this weekend to improve on early-season performances, with sophomore Brad Nakanishi looking to best his 14-11 mark in the pole vault from Div. III's. He will be accompanied in the event by senior co-captain Sam Read.
Meanwhile, sophomore Curtis Yancy, after throwing 13.32 meters in the shot put last weekend, is trying to finish with a good enough performance at All-New Englands to set him up for success later in the season and in coming years.
"I'm just hoping for a PR," said Yancy. "Honestly, it would be hard to set a new PR, but if I could do it, I would provisionally qualify for nationals in only my sophomore year. That would be great to build on going into my junior season, but I know it will be difficult to get."
Regardless of whether Yancy reaches his goal, he can be proud of his performances throughout the year, especially on Feb. 12, when the Jumbos hosted the Tufts Invitational III. At that meet, Yancy dominated in the weight throw with a distance of 52-3 1/4, capturing first place in that event, as well as notching a fourth-place finish in the shot put.
"If [qualifying for nationals] happens, then it happens," Yancy said. "I know it will be very difficult, but I want to do the best that I possibly can."
Accompanying Yancy in the meet this weekend will be classmate Vinnie Lee in the 60-meter dash, while sophomore Jeff Marvel and junior Connor Rose will compete in the 800-meter run. Freshmen Jamie Norton and Bobby McShane and sophomore Adam Brosh will race the 1,000-meter.
Competing in the triple jump will be sophomore Gbola Ajayi, looking to best his performances this season.
The Jumbos also have put together a foursome to compete in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR). Freshman Brian McLaughlin will lead off the relay in the 1,200-meter leg, handing off to sophomore Lawrence Xia in the 400, followed by sophomore Dan Kirschner in the 800 and freshman Liam Cassidy anchoring in the 1,600 leg. Earlier in the season, Tufts ran a DMR at BU that provisionally qualified for NCAAs. In the weeks to come, the squad will look to build a team that can improve on that NCAA qualifier and secure a time that will guarantee a trip to nationals.
"[This weekend] is an opportunity for everybody on the team to do well," coach Barron said. "We are facing top-class competition, so hopefully that will push every runner to do better."
