MEDFORD - The Jumbo men's track and field team opened up the indoor season with strong showings from all event groups en route to a third-place finish in the Tufts Winter Invitational at the Gantcher Center on Saturday.
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| Junior Veer Bhalla won the 600 at the season-opening meet |
Tufts' 92 points was the best among Division III squads, as Division II rivals UMass Lowell and Stonehill claimed the top two spots with 160 and 145 points, respectively. Keene State (54) and Worcestor State (45) rounded out the top five of the 14-team field.
The Jumbos fared particularly well in mid-distance events, tallying a combined 29 points in the 600 and 1,000 races. Junior Veer Bhalla won the 600 with a time of 1:22.77. He was backed by junior Alex Kasemir in fifth (1:24.90), freshman Peter McCauley in sixth (1:25:14) and senior Alex Sheltzer in eighth (1:25.79).
In the 1000, junior Mitch Black emerged victorious with a time of 2:30.23. Classmate Alex Apostolides clocked a time of 2:36.68 for eighth.
Freshman Andrew DiMaiti notched a win in the 400 with a time of 50.79. Junior Francis Goins recorded a time of 51.11 for third.
Tufts athletes also notched strong performances in longer events, as junior Michael Curley took second in the 3,000 with a time of 8:45.86. Classmate James Traester and senior Nick Guarnaccia placed fourth and sixth in the mile with times of 4:27.66 and 4:28.78, respectively.
In the circle, senior Brian Williamson placed third in the shot put with a throw of 48'10" (14.89m) and heaved the weight 47'9" (14.55m) for sixth. Junior Atticus Swett backed Williamson in the weight throw with a mark of 47'1" (14.34m), good enough for eighth.
On the runway, sophomore Pietro Possenti cleared 13' 7" (4.15m) in the pole vault for fifth place.
Next week, coach Ethan Barron's team will look to improve off these solid performances as they travel north to compete in the Bowdoin Invitational.
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