No. 11 Tufts men’s track and field competed in the Tufts Final Qualifying Meet in the Gantcher Center on Saturday. This race was the last chance for runners to earn a spot at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. With a few exceptions, only athletes within the top 15 times are invited to compete at the national championship meet.
This past weekend, none of the Jumbos secured nationally-ranking times that newly vaulted themselves into the top 15. However, many athletes set personal records or improved upon times that had already earned them qualifications.
Sophomore mid-distance runner Hiroto Watanabe won the 800-meter race with a time of 1:53.50, which improved upon his 13th ranked time of 1:54.13 and brought him to 11th nationally. Senior sprinter Blake Coolidge broke the Tufts school record for the 60-meter, the third time the record has been broken in this season. Coolidge ran a 6.95, winning the race and overtaking junior hurdler Peter Clark’s previous time of 6.99. Even though Coolidge ran a school-record-breaking time, his mark only brought him to 30th in the nation and was not enough to qualify. Sophomore mid-distance runner Colin Raposo ran his best mile of the season with a time of 4:16.92, placing seventh at the meet but several seconds outside of the top 25 nationally.
The Jumbos had a number of runners on the brink of national qualification. The 4x400 relay team -- composed of senior tri-captain sprinter Nick Usoff, junior hurdler Andrew DiMaiti, sophomore mid-distance runner Thomas Doyle and first-year long sprinter/long hurdler Billy Witrock -- improved upon their season-best time of 3:21.49 with a new time of 3:20.43. This new time bumped the foursome up to 20th nationally. Senior tri-captain Luke O’Connor’s season-best time of 8:24.21 in the 3000-meter is currently ranked 19th, but he did not improve his time at the meet and fell just short of the top 15 as well.
Four Jumbos -- Watanabe, junior jumper Stefan Duvivier, senior distance runner Tim Nichols and sophomore hurdler/jumper Josh Etkind -- have earned qualifying times to represent Tufts at the NCAA Championships.
Watanabe explained that he did not expect to be on his way to nationals in only his sophomore season.
"I'm really surprised I'm headed there," Watanabe said. "I'm just overall really happy and excited."
Nichols qualified for both the 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter races. Nichols is the second seed in the 5,000-meter with his 14:19.45 mark from the Tufts Cupid Challenge on Feb. 4. He is also ranked 13th in the 3,000-meter with a 8:21.51 he ran at the Tufts Stampede Invitational on Jan. 28.
Etkind is ranked 11th nationally for the 60-meter hurdles with his time of 8.16 he earned at the NEICAAA Championships on Feb. 24. Duvivier is ranked second for the high jump with his dominant 2.10 meter jump from the NEICAAA Championships.
With the exception of Nichols, this NCAA Championship will be the first for the qualified Jumbos. Nichols has extensive experience, as he has been to two NCAA Championship events for track and four for cross country. The North Lima, Ohio native also has three All-American titles to his name (one for track and two for cross country).
While he, Etkind and Duvivier have never been to an NCAA Championship meet before, Watanabe believes in the first-timers' ability to perform at the national level.
"I think [we] are used to the competition that's going to be there," Watanabe said. "Stefan [Duvivier] will have a real shot at winning the high jump, and anything can happen with Josh [Etkind] on the hurdles, so it is just a matter of how his race goes on the day and how he's feeling."
Coach Joel Williams also believes that the level of competition won't phase the Jumbos.
"I am not worried about NCAA experience or lack thereof," Williams told the Daily in an email. "We spent the last few weeks competing against the top athletes in the region and in Div. III, so I am confident they will continue to perform at a very high level. I always say that the NCAA meet, or any championship meet, is just another meet. If you do what you did to get in the meet, you will perform well."
Williams and the team are looking forward to showing what they can do at nationals.
"The guys are quite excited and well prepared," Williams said. "Our hope is to improve on last year's 21st place finish. The goal is top 15."
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held in Naperville, Ill. on March 10 and 11.
Tufts secures four NCAA bids
