Jumbos Roll at Stampede

(2/6/2010) See more Photos     Full Results

Less than 12 hours after the end of Friday's competition, the Jumbos picked up right where they left off. After going two-for-two on goals achieved for the weekend's events, the Tufts men's track and field team looked to continue the momentum that Bobby Bardin and Tobie Reeuwijk set the night before. And they would do just that. The morning's competitors in the 55m, HJ, and WT did a fantastic job setting the tone for the day's efforts.

Junior Alex Gresham continued to regain his comfort with the 35# weight as he hurled a season best mark of 14.31m, good enough for 3rd place overall. Meanwhile across the infield, freshman Mike Blair added his own 3rd place finish in the high jump. His leap of 1.91m was a collegiate PR and moved him up to 7th on the All Time Top 10 list. Getting things started on the oval were the Jumbo sprinters in the 55m dash. Senior Marc Soskin and freshman Vinnie Lee ran qualifiers for the finals and ran season bests in their second race. Soskins time of 6.78 gave him a qualifier for the New England Championships while Lees 6.66 took the 4th spot in the meet and also earned him a notch in the All Time Top 10 list.

The Jumbos also unveiled some fresh faces this weekend in the 55m dash with a trio of freshman. Lomie Cunningham (6.85), Kameron Jaff (6.91), and Mike Howell (7.04) all had noteworthy starts to their careers. Cunningham came back to add a strong 3rd leg to the Jumbo 4x4 squad and Jaff clocked in at 23.88 in his first ever indoor 200m. Howell, a TJ/HJer by trade, continued to build back strength from a lingering FB injury.

This trio of freshmen weren't the only fresh faces for the Jumbos this weekend. The squad also welcomed back veterans Jesse Faller and Ben Crastnopol for the Stampede. In his first race since breaking the 5k school record in December, Jesse Faller assembled a victory in the mile with a flat-track PR of 4:17.19. Adding their own PR's in the same event were Corey Melnick (4:28.61) and Chris Brunnquell (4:34.12). Melnick (1000m, mile, 3k) and Brunnquell (mile, 3k, 5k) have posted PR performances in every event they have attempted this year.

Crastnopol improved on his early season race in the Alumni Meet with his 52.15. Although he missed the New Qualifier by 0.15 seconds, his time was good enough for 5th place overall and was a strong step back to full strength for the quarter miler. Hot on his heels was senior, captain Jared Engelking with a 52.67 of his own. Engelking, an All American in the decathlon last spring, was a little out of his element in the open 400m. He performed well with a strong second lap after opening up with a conservative opening 200m. Engelking also came back to anchor the 4x400m team to a victory in the meet.

As the days events began to move up in distance, the Jumbos depth became all the more apparent. In the 1000m, Dan Kirschner and Jeff Prescott became the 8th and 9th members of the middle distance squad qualified for the New England Championships in the event. Their depth, on top of occupying two of the top three rankings, demonstrates the capabilities of this years mid-D squad for the Jumbos.

The final event of the day, the 4x800m relay, would showcase both one of the lowest and highest points for the Jumbos. The all-freshman team of Sam Haney, Adam Brosh, Jeff Marvel, and Dan Kirschner were forced to run solo for the majority of the race, but stepped up to clock in at an impressive 8:06.67. What makes the time most impressive is the fact that they still won the meet and ran a season best time for the Jumbos even with a dropped baton on the first exchange.

The Jumbos took a strong step forward from the previous weekend at the Bowdoin Invitational and look to continue to build as season moves forward. As more athletes return to uniform and round into form, the energy around both practices and meets can be felt as the team zeroes in on their personal and team goals for the season. Look for the team to split their efforts between the MIT Coed Invitational and the BU Valentines Invite next Saturday.


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