Jumbos Lead After Day One of New Englands

(2/22/2008) See more Photos     Full Results

Led by Senior Captain Nate Scott, the Jumbos set the tone for the 2008 Division III New England Championships by taking three of the top five places in the pentathlon.

The Jumbos got off to a great start, led by Sophomore Trevor Donadt's PR in the hurdles, running a 7.82 for the fastest time of the afternoon. Next for the Jumbos was Scott, almost matching his PR with a time of 8.04. Rounding out the Jumbo performances were Senior Derek Engelking and Sophomore Bobby Bardin with times of 8.49 and 8.72.

Scott stole the show in the Long Jump, leaping 6.51 on his first jump to take the crown for that event. Engelking also broke the 6-meter barrier, jumping 6.02, while Donadt posted a solid 5.79 and Bardin finished with a mark of 5.33. All competitors were aided by the boisterous Gantcher Center crowd.

Next that crowd settled down for the Shot Put, and for the third straight event, a Jumbo took the top spot in an event, with Engelking throwing a monster 39\'00\". Scott gave the coach and spectators cause for concern by fouling his first two throws, but launched the third attempt out for a respectable 10.50m throw. Donadt PRed by over a meter, throwing 9.51, and Bardin threw a solid 22\'

The crowd really started getting going for the high jump, which saw 3 of the 4 Jumbos match or set PRs. Bobby Bardin came up big, clearing 1.83 (6\'0\") for the first time on his first attempt. Donadt also cleared 1.83, bringing the total of jumpers to have cleared 6\'0 on the current Tufts roster to 10. Derek matched his PR with a leap of 1.80m, and Nate Scott placed 2nd to Keene State\'s Frank Radlof with a jump of 1.89m.

For the 1000, Nate Scott again led the way for the Jumbos, running a 2:43 to claim the title, along with the school, facility, and meet record for the pentathlon with a score of 3583. Bates\' John Miley was in 2nd place. Derek (2:45) finished third, with a monster score of 3376, outpacing Radlof by a mere point. Donadt (2:46)rounded out the scoring for Tufts, finishing with 3353.

With a 1-3-5 finish, the Jumbos grabbed 20 key points for the team crown, as well as locking up 3 of the top 4 spots on the Tufts all-time list. The Jumbos can just hope that these great performances are a hint of what is to come in Day 2, when the rest of the events kick off at 11am.


See more Photos   Full Results