BOSTON - Fourteen members of the Tufts men's track and field team placed in the top-eight of their respective events at the season-opening Jay Carisella Invitational at Northeastern on Saturday.
With no team scoring, the meet served as an opportunity for the Jumbos to compete with some tough competition from athletes across all divisions. It was also a chance to gauge ability levels after a long fall of training.
The 4x400 meter relay team recorded a runner-up finish, the highest in any event for the Jumbos. Junior Vinnie Lee (Walpole, MA), sophomores Graham Buetler (Weston, CT) and Dan Lange Vagle (St. Paul, MN), and first-year Ptah Osayande ran a time of 3:25.06 for second place behind the University of New Hampshire.
Juniors Curtis Yancy (St. Louis, MO), Gbola Ajayi (Lagos, Nigeria), and Matt Rand (Cape Elizabeth, ME) all notched third-place finishes. In the weight throw, Yancy recorded a toss of 54'2 1/2" (16.52m). Ajayi leaped 21'11 3/4" (6.70m) in the long jump. He also recorded a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 45'1" (13.74m). Rand's time of 14:48.51 was good enough for third in the 5k.
First-year Francis Goins recorded a stellar collegiate debut in the 400 meters with a time of 50.56 seconds, good enough for fourth place in the event. Another impressive rookie performance was that of Brian Williamson in the shot put. He took fifth place with a throw of 48'3 1/2" (14.72m)
Three other Jumbos secured top-five finishes. Junior Kyle Marks (Carmel, IN) ran a time of 14:56.59 in the 5k, sophomore Trevor Rothaus (Placentia, CA) cleared 13'5 1/4" (4.10m) in the pole vault, and sophomore Andrew Osborne leaped 20'9 3/4" (6.34m) in the long jump.
In the mile, senior tri-captain Connor Rose (Irvine, CA) and sophomore Jamie Norton (Groton, MA) finished back-to-back in sixth and seventh place with times of 4:18.62 and 4:18.95 respectively.
Osayande, in addition to his leg on the runner-up 4x400 meter relay team, was able to place eighth in the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 8.11 seconds.
Plenty of good baseline performances were set by the Jumbos on Saturday. With two and a half months remaining before championship meets, Coach Ethan Barron's team has plenty of time to improve on Saturday's marks.
The Jumbos will not compete again as a full squad until they host the Tufts Invitational in the Gantcher Center on January 14.
Meet results
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Written by Matt Rand
