The men's track and field team came, saw and conquered this weekend.
The Jumbos went to the Eric Loeschner Memorial Meet on Saturday at Fitchburg State, where they tallied 18 top-five finishes en route to their lone and thus most lopsided win - a thrashing by any standard - of the outdoor season, winning by a commanding 66.5 points over second-place Worcester State.
"We were all very pleased to have the opportunity to compete," senior jumper Gbola Ajayi said. "This weekend was our last regular season meet, and to have that almost taken away would have seen some guys' seasons end prematurely."
Despite its overall dominance, Tufts' only individual victory on the day came in the javelin, with junior Matt Johnson's throw of 182 feet eight inches besting the next best among the field of 27 by more than five inches. Freshman Patrick Haneberg, the only other Jumbo participating in the javelin, finished eighth with a throw of 153 feet one inch.
The Jumbos dominated throughout the throwing events, as senior tri-captain Curtis Yancy notched a second place finish in the hammer throw with a heave of 168 feet 7 inches as well as a third place finish in the discus with a throw of 142 feet 6 inches.
Just behind him in each event were classmate Andre Figueroa and sophomore Brian Williamson, respectively each taking home fourth place. Figueroa also finished sixth in the shot put with a toss of 39 feet 2 ? inches.
Senior Gbola Ajayi, last week's NESCAC field performer of the week honoree, looked intent on retaining his crown as he secured two runner-up finishes in the long jump and in the triple jump.
In the long jump, Ajayi lead a group of four Jumbos that took spots two through five.
Right behind Ajayi in third place was freshman Bryson Hoover-Hankerson, who leapt 21 feet 2 ? inches.
Juniors Andrew Osborne and Ned DeLeo tangled in a close battle for the fourth position, with Osborne edging out DeLeo by three quarters of an inch.
It was a particularly successful day for the sprinters, culminating in a resounding win in the 4x100 relay.
The team, comprised of senior Vinnie Lee, juniors Graham Beutler and Daniel Lange Vagle and Hoover-Hankerson, cranked out a win in just 42.61 seconds, nearly a full second faster than Franklin Pierce's "A" squad.
"The [4x100] finally clicked as we got the handoffs working better," Beutler said. "We'll look to do the same thing next weekend."
Lee also competed in both the 200 and 100, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
His time of 22.91 in the 200 was just .4 seconds off from the eventual winner, while his time of 11.39 in the 100 was a shade more than a tenth of a second back from the winning time.
Sophomore Joseph St. Pierre set the tone for the distance team early on with his time of 4:05.16 in the 1,500 while classmate Marshall Pagano clocked a personal-best time of 9:44.67 in the steeplechase.
And in the 800, freshman Alex Apostolides ran a season-best time of 1:59.11 to finish fourth.
This weekend marks the beginning of championship season for the Jumbos, and they hope to open it up with a bang when they host the NESCAC Championships April 27.
"[I'm] looking forward to seeing what the team and I can do at home this coming weekend at NESCACs," Ajayi said.
"We are hoping for some good support from the student body to really make a difference," he added.
