Seven members of the men's track and field team flew out to Iowa yesterday for the NCAA Div. III Championships, which will be held at Grinnell College on Friday and Saturday. The top 13 individuals and top 10 relay teams in each event earned the right to compete. For the Tufts men, that includes senior tri-captain Connor Rose, juniors Jeff Marvel, GbolaAjayi, Curtis Yancy and Matt Rand and sophomores Graham Beutler and Bobby McShane, the largest group of athletes the team has sent in recent years.
Rose will kick off the action for Tufts on the track in the preliminaries of the mile run at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday. Rose's time of 4:09.65 (converted from 4:08.65 on Boston University's banked track) from the Feb. 24 Open New England Championships ranks him sixth among the 13 individuals allotted bids. The top three athletes from each of two heats, as well as the next four fastest athletes, will advance to the finals at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
"Connor is poised to do really well in the mile," Marvel said. "He's been racing well all season, and I think his best race is still in front of him, based on how his training has gone and seeing him work out."
Marvel will also compete on Friday evening in the 800-meter run, where he ranks fifth at 1:52.03 (converted from 1:51.43), a time achieved at Open New Englands. The 800-meter preliminaries begin at 7:45 p.m., with the top two in each heat and the next four fastest runners moving on to Saturday's finals at 5:55 p.m.
"The goal going in is to get All-American," Marvel said. "Last year, I wasn't able to do that, but I gained some valuable experience just being at the meet, so I think this year I will be in a good position to make the finals and do really well."
All-American recognition requires a top-eight finish, so qualifying for the finals in the 800-meter would guarantee Marvel the honor.
This weekend will not be the first appearance at indoor nationals for Rose or Marvel, who both qualified in the 800-meter run last season and earned 10th and 12th, respectively.
"Last year I didn't make the finals, but I was able to see how the meet was run," Marvel said. "It is a little different than most meets. It forces you to change your warmup a little bit, so by being there it helps me know the process so it's not totally new or unexpected. I also think I'm a little better able to handle the hype and the energy at Nationals after being there last year."
Marvel will be one of seven New England athletes in the 800-meter, meaning that he will line up with several familiar faces.
"Knowing that I've raced these guys and knowing that I've done well against the competition definitely boosts my confidence," Marvel said.
Also taking to the track for Tufts on Friday is the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) squad, featuring McShane in the 1,200-meter leg, Beutler in the 400, Rose in the 800 and Rand in the 1,600 at 8:05 p.m. Tufts' time of 10:01.64 (converted from 9:58.64) from the ECAC Championships last Friday was the last of the 10 times to earn a bid. The qualifying foursome of McShane, Beutler, Marvel and Rose will be shuffled to include Rand, and Marvel will only compete in the 800-meter this weekend.
"We had to shift some guys around in the DMR, but I think they can do some real damage in the meet and I think they can be a top finisher," Marvel said.
Rand, a veteran at the national level, has earned two All-American honors, one in cross country this fall and one in the 10,000-meter run last outdoor season. Friday will mark McShane's and Beutler's premiers at the national level.
Yancy and Ajayi will represent Tufts in the field events this weekend, and both are first-timers on the national scene. At 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Yancy will compete in the weight throw; he enters the event ranked 11th after his launch of 61-4 1/4 at the ECAC Championships last Saturday. The event begins with two flights, from which the top nine competitors will earn spots in the finals.
Ajayi will represent the Jumbos on Saturday in the triple jump, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Ajayi's leap of 47-5 3/4 at Open New Englands ranks 12th among the 13-man field. Like the weight throw, the triple jump kicks off with two flights and the top nine jumpers advance to the finals.
"I am not expecting much; I am just looking to go out there, compete and see what happens," Ajayi said of his first national experience. "I would like to jump at least as well as I jumped to get to Nationals, hopefully better, but I have no particular goals place-wise. I don't want to put that pressure on myself."
Ajayi will not be the only one trying to shake off some nerves this weekend.
"It's the first time [at Nationals for four of us], so it's a little scary going out there and competing against the best guys in the nation. But we need to realize that we are the best guys in the nation too," Ajayi said.
The seven athletes will look to carry the momentum from their strong qualifying performances over the last two weeks into the national meet.
"We're all pretty confident and feeling good," Marvel said. "Last year it was just me and Connor that traveled, and this year it's seven guys traveling so it definitely will help the energy and motivation to have a bunch of your teammates along with you competing."
"We are very excited and we think that any or all of us can do very well at Nationals," Ajayi added. "I'm excited to see what we can all do and excited to see what the girls can do. We're sending four very good girls, so it can be a very good weekend for Tufts track as a whole."
