TU Shines at BU and MIT - Hale Breaks School Record in 1000m

(2/13/2010) See more Photos     Full Results

For the second time of the year, the Tufts mens track team split its squad and competed at separate venues. With most of the runners at BU's fast banked track for the Valentines Invite and all the field events at MIT, the weekend was the last chance to nail down qualifiers for the upcoming New England Championships. The momentum continued to build as both seasoned veterans and rookies in their debut collegiate indoor campaign dropped big marks in the last meet of the regular season.

Over at the BU oval, two Tufts sprinters in their first and last seasons got things going after what was admittedly a slow start to the meet. Freshman Lomie Cunningham and senior Marc Soskin both PR'd in the 200 in 22.97 and 23.17, respectively, and secured entry into next week's NE Championship. It was Cunningham's first time under 23 seconds and the fastest Soskin has run in college indoors or out--a mark that has been a long time coming from the Minnesotan senior. Fired up by these performances, sophomore Ben Crastnopol showed he hasn't missed a step as he put up a season best 50.93 in his first full-out 400m back from injury.

Things really took off when a pair of first years stepped on the track for the 800m. One came to TUTF with an impressive high school PR of 1:56; the other had just dipped under the 2-minute barrier at 1:59.99 in his senior year. Both were primed and ready to lower those bests. Seeing guys get boxed and jostled in the first few heats, freshman Dan Kirschner ran a smart and aggressive race in heat 9 to drop his lifetime PR to 1:55.71. Minutes later in the next heat, classmate Jeff Marvel smashed his own PR when he exploded from the front of the race and won by 10 meters in 1:56.17. Senior Jason Hanrahan put up a season best just off his PR from this meet last year in a very solid 1:55.87. Needless to say, to have two freshmen under 1:56.2 in mid-February and six athletes overall with PRs under this mark bodes well both for the indoor championships and the outdoor season to follow.

Then, Tufts did what it does best: build on its momentum. With these two inspiring performances in the 800m, senior captain Billy Hale took the track in the 1000m looking for redemption. After the previous night's disheartening DMR, in which Hale had struggled to maintain position in the 1200 and faded in the last 300m, it was a decisive moment that would show just how Tufts responds to disappointment. Out in the front and visibly more relaxed, Hale found the last gear that had eluded him just 18 hours prior and closed in a PR and new school record of 2:28.70, eclipsing the mark of 2:28.93 by 2005 alum Aaron Kaye--an accomplishment that Hale has had his eyes on for the past four years. Although perhaps outshadowed by the excitement of a new school record, freshman Sam Haney put up a PR performance of his own in 2:33, continuing to drop time each week.

From there, the baton was passed back to the Jumbo sprinters to keep the ball rolling. And that they did. The relay team of Tobie Reeuwijk, Lomie Cunningham, Kameron Jaff, and Jared Engelking ran a season best time of 3:23.66 to win their heat. The three rookies led off with respectable 51 second legs, handing off to Engelking with a 40m deficit. The All American decathlete ran one of his most tactically sound races since last spring's national championships. His 49.0 leg was good enough to close the gap and take first in the heat.

At this point, the team was 10 hours deep into the lengthy Valentines Invite. It would be easy for any team to let off the pedal and coast through the long day. But not this squad, as Jesse Faller took over control once the relay team tapped out. Faller posted a lifetime best in the 3k with an incredibly smooth and relaxed 8:28.73. Backing him up with their own PRs were Andrew Bellet, Corey Melnick, and Erik Antokal. All in all, an inspiring day for the Jumbos at BU.

Across the river in Cambridge, the Jumbos 2nd battalion was handling their own competition at MIT. One of the most impressive performances of the day came on the LJ runway as Frank DeSalvo posted a collegiate PR and NE qualifier with his leap of 6.41m. Freshmen Russell Stern (LJ/TJ), Gbola Ajayi (LJ), and Randy Rogers (HJ) each added their own PRs to the day as well.

One week out from the New England Championships, the squad looks to continue to tune up and rest as they prep for their trek to Bates College next weekend. With momentum in full swing, this year's squad simply looks to hold the course as they head into championship season. They have been doing a remarkable job taking steps forward each weekend thus far and look to take that energy into the New England Championships this Friday and Saturday.



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