Marks Qualifies for National Championships

(11/15/2010 11:07 AM) Full Results

Sophomore Kyle Marks qualified for the NCAA Championships this past Saturday, advancing as one of the 7 individuals from the New England Region. Teammate Matt Rand was the first individual to miss out after the region was only awarded two at-large bids. As a team, the Jumbos finished in 8th place, a mere 16 points out of 4th place. With such parity in the region, the meet played out exactly as expected with 8 or 9 teams anxiously awaiting the final results to be posted.

In the end, it turned out to be a closer battle than anyone could have imagined with Bates and Wesleyan tying for 5th place with 150 points. Bowdoin finsished 7th with Tufts right behind them in 8th place with 162 points. Marks and Rand ran brilliant races from start to finish. The pair of sophomores demonstrated that they truly are two of the most dominant distance runners in the region both now and in the future. Marks (13th overall) and Rand (17th overall) will be the 5th and 9th returners next fall.

The TUXC squad leaned heavily on its rookies this past weekend. Sophomore transfer Tyler Andrews and freshman Ben Wallis moved up consistently over the entire race after being buried early on at the start. Andrews moved up from the low 100’s at the mile mark to finish 39th while Wallis finished 41st overall. Both were incredibly admirable performances for two first timers at the Regional Championships.

The third and final rookie at the meet for the Jumbos was freshman Liam Cassidy who finished 68th. Cassidy ran a gutsy race putting himself in good position early. However the early pace proved a little too much for the Maine native as he battled adnd fought to hold ground. Even with a subpar race for Cassidy, he still managed to hold on to be the 12th overall freshman in the meet. Throughout the course of the season, Cassidy has demonstrated an impressive hunger and dedication that should propel him to new heights in seasons to come.

Bridging the gap between the rookies was senior, captain Jeff Ragazzini who would eventually be the Jumbos 5th man this weekend. After being buried early, Ragazzini found himself in the low 80’s at the halfway point. He would move up mast almost 30 runners in the final half, but would eventually run out of room to make up for lost ground. He ran a solid last 400m that helped him catch 7-10 runners in the final stretch. The final Jumbo runner was junior Scott McArthur who battled through burred vision and wooziness for the final 3 miles to finish in 114th place.

With six runners returning from this year's Regional Championship squad, the team looks strong for next fall's campaign. With the added depth of only having 3 seniors in the top 28 of the team and adding a few more talented freshmen to the mix, the Jumbos look to continue down their path of consistent improvement - come back a little stronger and faster next fall and battle like no other.


Full Results