MEDFORD - Junior Veer Bhalla notched a top-10 national time in the 800 to propel the jumbo men's track and field team to second place at the Tufts Cupid Challenge at the Gantcher Center on Saturday.
Bhalla took a full second off his previous season-best time in the 800, as he crossed the line in 1:53.90, easily besting the 47-man field. His time ranks in the top-10 nationally to date, but he may need to run even faster to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
Junior Alex Apostolides backed Bhalla in the 800 with a fifth-place finish in a time of 1:58.66. Sophomore Luke O'Connor also recorded a top-five finish, as he clocked a time of 2:37.19 in the 1,000.
Tufts athletes also fared well in other mid-distance events, as freshman Chris Gregory placed third in the 600 with a time of 1:24.60 and junior James Traester notched a season-best time of 4:22.87 in the mile for fourth. Freshman John Greenberg took fourth in the 3,000 with his time of 8:53.49.
On the runway, sophomore Pietro Possenti earned a win in the pole vault with his clearance of 13' 7 ½" (4.15m).
In the circle, junior Atticus Swett placed second in the shot put (48'4", 14.74m) and third in the weight throw (47'2 ½", 14.39m). Classmate Ife Adebayo took fourth in the weight with his heave of 46'4 ½" (14.13m).
The Jumbos totaled 85 points on the day, second-best after the Coast Guard Academy's score of 91. MIT placed third in the 20-team field with 83 points.
Next weekend, coach Ethan Barron's team will look for more season-best marks as the squad heads to Boston University to compete in the David Hemery Invitational.
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