Tufts notched 141 points this weekend, placing first out of eight teams at the Bowdoin Invitational, 17 points ahead of runner-up Southern Maine (124) and nearly 30 points ahead of host Bowdoin, who finished in third with 111.33 points. The biggest takeaway for the weekend, however, was neither the podium finishes nor the new personal records set.
"I think that the meet was a significant exercise in team bonding and unity," junior Veer Bhalla told the Daily in an email. "One major objective was to get everyone cheering for other teammates in order to help them achieve their own personal goal."
The Jumbos swept the top four finishes in the 1,000 meter, with Bhalla winning the race in a time of 2:31.76 and senior co-captain Marshall Pagano (2:33.26), Sam Garfield (2:35.40) and Joseph St. Pierre (2:36.65) rounding out the top four.
Senior Brian Williamson had another strong performance for Tufts with two podium finishes. In the shot put, he placed second with a mark of 48' 10.25", and his heave of 50' 8" in the weight throw earned him third place.
The 1,000 meters and the weight throw are among the events where Tufts now poses commendable threats to its competitors.
"We added Div. III New England qualifiers in several events including the 1,000 meter, 3,000 meter [and] weight throw among others," Pagano told the Daily in an email. "The biggest thing is trying to get more postseason qualifying marks and times. It will be crucial to have as many athletes competing at Div. III New Englands as possible."
The win for Bhalla came after having his 600-meter school record broken by junior Mitchell Black this weekend, who finished with a time of 1:20.21. Meanwhile, sophomore Luke O'Connor emerged victorious in the mile with a time of 4:25.70, and classmate Tim Nichols (8:41.42) and senior Nick Guarnaccia (8:53.10) finished second and third respectively in the 3,000 meter.
Pagano, however, insists that despite the early success the team has much to improve on.
"Bowdoin, in the grand scheme of the things, isn't a particularly important meet because it's an early season one, [but] that said, it can definitely help build confidence and momentum going into more important meets," Pagano said. "While Bowdoin was a good meet for us, there is still a lot to improve upon. Many athletes are still looking to hit qualifying marks and times. We're getting into the meat of the season where our workouts ramp up in intensity."
Yet based on last weekend's performance, the Jumbos have already begun displaying their versatility as a team, with wins all across the board.
In the shorter events, sophomore Nicholas Usoff clocked a time of 51.52 for third in the 400 meter and junior Bryson Hoover Hankerson placed fourth in the 60 meter with a time of 7.16. Adding more points for Tufts were sophomore Thomas Wang, whose 6' leap earned him third place in the high jump, and junior Atticus Swett (48' 8") and sophomore Corey Burns (42' 4.75"), who placed third and fourth in the shot put, respectively.
"I think we did a great job cheering each other on, and getting more invested into our teammates goals," Bhalla said. "We still need to work on improving our track IQ, meaning learning events outside of our own [but] we did a good job in being more unified. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be trying to hit marks to qualify for later meets, and I think that our unity is going to play a big role in our performance at Div. III New England's -- our major team oriented meet."
"[The] team was definitely excited about winning the meet and the great performances across the board," Pagano said. "We'll look to carry that momentum into this weekend where most of the team will be competing at home. A couple of our best guys will be at BU trying to hit times to qualify them for Nationals, [so] look for lots of fast times and great marks from the Jumbos."
