It was a battle right until the end for the title at this weekend's men's track and field Div. III New England Championships, hosted by Springfield. Ultimately, Bates stood atop the podium, becoming just the second team since 1991 to wrestle the title away from perennial powerhouses Williams and MIT — the first being when the Jumbos ended the streak in 2008. The Jumbos didn't topple any giants this year, but they did secure third place with 89 points, outscoring rival Williams and improving three places from their disappointing sixth-place finish in 2011.
"It was a very good day as a team. It started on Friday with the heptathlon and … through to the last event, the 4x800, we had some great performances," junior GbolaAjayi said. "We used the metaphor of the meet being like a relay, so we had to get the baton to the relays in a good position ... Once people scored points, the energy carried through."
Energy was a major theme for the Jumbos throughout the meet.
"Since it was our first championship meet, it was the first time that the team really came together with a good energy and pulled the competitors through with the momentum during the day," senior tri-captain Scott McArthur added. "It was definitely the highest energy I've seen all season."
Bates won the meet with 103 points, while 2011 winner MIT earned runner-up honors with 95 points.
On Saturday, juniors Brad Nakanishi and Matt Rand led the way with the two Tufts victories of the weekend. Nakanishi, the 2011 runner-up in the pole vault, claimed the title this year, clearing a height of 15-11 — a mark that ranks ninth nationally. The height is also a personal record for Nakanishi. just an inch away from the school record of 16-0, set in 1980.
On the track, Rand earned the victory in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:55.43, separating himself from the runner-up by over six seconds. Rand was supported in the event by classmates Kyle Marks and Tyler Andrews, who earned sixth and eighth with times of 15:08.23 and 15:10.46, respectively.
Ajayi contributed the most individual points for Tufts, earning two second-place finishes in the jumps. His leap of 22-5 1/4 was good for runner-up in the long jump, while 46-5 1/4 earned him runner-up in the triple jump as well.
Sophomore Graham Beutler also posted a second-place performance in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.57 seconds, just one-tenth of a second off the winning time.
Recording two third-place finishes on Saturday were sophomore Bobby McShane and freshman Brian Williamson. McShane crossed the line in the 1,000-meter run in 2:30.55, while Williamson launched the shot put 50-10 3/4.
"Bobby's race was definitely one of the most exciting races of the day," McArthur said. "He was running out of the slow heat and still managed to get third place in the 1,000. He definitely surprised everyone with his performance."
Over the course of Friday and Saturday, sophomore Andrew Osborne claimed fourth in the heptathlon, with a score of 4,166 points. Junior Jeff Marvel also earned a fourth-place finish on the track Saturday, with a time of 1:56.56 in the 800-meter run.
The meet was ultimately decided in the final events of the day, the 4x400 and 4x800 relays and Distance Medley Relay (DMR), in which the Jumbos secured two more fourth-place finishes.
"We went into the relays with a legitimate shot at first and pretty much dead-tied for second, so everyone was really excited," McArthur said. "It didn't finish out quite as perfect as it could have, but everyone gave their all, and there was a lot of energy and excitement going into those relays and that contributed to the good feeling it came down to when the meet was over."
In the DMR, the foursome of senior Jeff Prescott in the 1,200, junior Lawrence Xia in the 400, freshman Alex Schifter in the 800 and sophomore Brian McLaughlin in the 1,600 clocked a time of 10:26.76. Last on the track, Marvel, McShane, junior Adam Brosh and freshman Aaron Roseman combined for a time of 7:59.21 for fourth in the 4x800.
The Jumbos will look to build on this past weekend's momentum as they continue the championship season.
"The hope is the team will carry the momentum forward. At this point in the season, the focus begins to shift to individuals and getting guys to nationals," said Ajayi, who has national hopes in the triple jump and the long jump.
On Friday and Saturday, the squad will compete among the top Div. I, II and III athletes at the Open New England Championships, hosted by Boston University.
"I think the big focus is going to be on running good DMR and 4x400 relays," McArthur said.
"That's the big team goal and everyone, those still competing and those not, is going to try to keep the momentum going and try to help those relays. have some good performances and hit national qualifying marks," he added.
