MEDFORD - The jumbo men's track and field team's distance medley relay (DMR) ran the second fastest time in the nation in the Cupid Challenge at the Gantcher Center on Saturday.
The un-scored meet was an opportunity to record qualifying times for championship meets and square off against stellar competition from all over the northeast and midwest, as teams from as far away as Iowa made the trip to Medford this weekend.
The Jumbos' DMR squad of sophomores Mitch Black (Brunswick, ME) and Veer Bhalla (West Windsor, NJ) and seniors Graham Beutler (Weston, CT) and Jamie Norton (Groton, MA) started off the day on the right foot, as they clocked a time of 9:58.17 to place second. Haverford (PA) took first by 0.16 seconds. They currently sit at number one in the nation, while Jumbos move to second.
Tufts' next-best showing on the track came in the 3,000, as seniors Ben Wallis (Dover, NH) and Andrew Shapero (Laguna Beach, CA) finished 3-4 in times of 8:37.31 and 8:38.44 respectively.
In the 5,000, sophomore Michael Curley (Attleboro, MA) notched a personal-best of 15:26.96 to place eighth. Classmate Alex Apostolides (Athens, Greece) broke the two-minute barrier in the 800 with his 1:58.12, good enough for sixth.
Two other Jumbos placed sixth, as freshman Jarad Asselin (Milford, NH) cleared the bar at 6' 0" (1.83m) in the high jump and classmate Pietro Possenti (Genova, Italy) pole vaulted over the bar at 13' 7 ¼" (4.15m).
Back on the track, sophomore Alex Kasemir (Highland Park, IL) recorded a solid time of 1:23.67 in the 600 to place seventh.
Coach Ethan Barron's squad will look to improve on these impressive performances in the coming meets, as championship season begins next weekend with the Division III New England Championship at MIT.
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