LINCOLN, NE - Five members of the Jumbo men's indoor track and field team earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championship at the University of Nebraska on Saturday.
After a successful Friday of qualifying that saw all four Tufts athletes advance to the final of their respective events, the Jumbos had high hopes for Saturday's races.
The Jumbos' five top-eight finishes tallied 12 points for the team competition, which landed Tufts in a tie for 15th. Wisconsin schools dominated the team standings, as La Crosse (63.5), Eau Claire (48) and Oshkosh (37.5) were the top three squads.
Sophomore Mitch Black (Brunswick, ME) entered the meet as the top seed in the 800 meters. He raced aggressively on Saturday, holding the lead for the first 700 meters before relinquishing it to Wisconsin-Oshkosh freshman McKena Ramos in the final 100. Black held on for third in a time of 1:52.17. It was his second individual All-American award and the third overall in his young career.
Black's classmate Veer Bhalla (West Windsor, NJ) garnered his first All-American honor, as he took eighth in the 800 with a time of 1:53.76.
In the 400 meter final, senior Graham Beutler (Weston, CT) was unable to better the school-record time of 48.16 that he ran in the preliminaries, but his time of 48.75 was good enough for seventh and his third career All-American award.
Beutler took to the track again in the final event of the meet, as he was joined by Black and sophomores Francis Goins (Shaker Heights, OH) and Alex Kasemir (Highland Park, IL) in the 4x400 meter relay. The quartet clocked a time of 3:15.51 to place sixth. The All-American finish was the first for Goins and Kasemir, and the fourth for Black and Beutler.
Senior Jamie Norton (Groton, MA) was in action in the mile. He was in the mix for the top-five for most of the race, but faded over the final 100 meters to finish tenth in a time of 4:12.80.
As a successful indoor season comes to a close, these athletes and the rest of coach Ethan Barron's squad will now shift their attention to the outdoor season.
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