MEDFORD - The Tufts University men's outdoor track team won six titles at the 2016 NESCAC Championship on Saturday and placed second at the meet hosted by Amherst College.
Senior Mitchell Black won both the 800 and 1,500-meter races. Junior Luke O'Connor took the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while senior Bryson Hoover-Hankerson was first in the long jump and sophomore Stefan Duvivier took first in the high jump. Tufts was also the 4x100-meter relay champion.
The Jumbos, who were attempting to win their third consecutive conference title, finished with 182 team points. Williams College won the 2016 league championship with a 207 score. Middlebury College took third with 122 points.
Black led the Jumbos with his double victory in the 800 (1:51.36) and 1,500 (3:52.28). He and classmate Veer Bhalla went 1-2 in the 800, with Bhalla recording a 1:51.71 runner-up time. Black won the NESCAC 800 for the third straight year. While Black's time did not improve on his #1 national ranking (1:48.60), Bhalla's did and he's currently at #11. The Jumbos scored 18 points in the event.
O'Connor also repeated as champion in his event, winning by more than 10 seconds in the steeplechase with his 9:12.08 time. He was also fourth in the 5,000 meters (14:56.37) to score a total of 15 points for the team.
The titles won by Hoover-Hankerson and Duvivier were less expected. Hoover-Hankerson went 23'1 1/4" (7.04m) in the long jump, a mark that ranks 21st nationally as of Saturday night. Including a fifth in the 100 meters (11.12) and his role with the 4x1, he also contributed big points in multiple events. Duvivier matched his season-best clearing 6'6" (1.98m) to win the high jump.
The 4x1 with Peter Clark, Hoover-Hankerson, Thomas Miller, and Anthony Kardonsky matched the NESCASC meet record with a winning time of 41.68 seconds. That's #13 nationally. The Jumbos had 19 points in the relays overall. In addition to the champion 4x1, the 4x4 of Andrew DiMaiti, Nick Usoff, Thomas Doyle, and Alex Kasemir was third in a 3:19.34 time. The 4x8 - Hiroto Watanabe, Tom DePalma, Sam Little, and Alex Apostolides - ran sixth (7:51.18).
Besides the mega-points scored in the 800 with Black and Bhalla, the Jumbos took 15 points from the 100 meters as Clark was third (11.05) and Miller was fourth (11.08) in front of Hoover-Hankerson. Miller added a fifth in the 200 (22.26), while Francis Goins and DiMaiti were fifth (49.08) and sixth (49.22) in the 400 meters, respectively.
Tufts also totaled 15 in the long jump as Gordon was sixth (22'1 1/2" - 6.74m) and Clark was seventh (21'10 3/4" - 6.67m). Gordon's 6'0" (1.83m) best in the high jump helped produce 14 team points with Duvivier. Gordon was also sixth in the triple (44'5 1/2" - 13.55m) to total 10 points on the day.
Tufts scored high points in the hurdles as well. Freshman Josh Etkind's 14.80 in the 110-meter hurdles preliminaries is #23 nationally. He was the runner-up in the final at 14.94 seconds. In the 400-meter hurdles, DiMaiti ran the nation's 20th-fastest mark of 53.95 seconds to place third. Etkind also had a third in the triple jump with a 46'9" (14.25m) leap that is #23 on the national list.
Junior Tim Nichols placed third in the 10,000 meters at 31:10.67 for another strong distance performance. Senior James Traester was fifth behind O'Connor in the 5K with a 15:02.35 time. Nick Adams came in sixth (9:41.09) supporting O'Connor for a 13-point steeplechase.
Usoff was another multiple scorer. He took second in javelin throw with a 187'10" (57.25m) toss, the #31 mark in the nation. He was also seventh in 400-meter hurdles (56.34). Freshman Henry Hintermeister helped Tufts scored 11 team points in the javelin with his 179'8" (54.77m) joining Usoff's runner-up effort.
Atticus Swett scored in two throwing events with a third in the discus, spinning off a 136'1" (41.47m). He was also seventh in the shot at 46'4 1/4" (14.13m). Senior Michael Paloian added a seventh in the hammer throw with a 151'10" (46.27m) launch.
Freshman Ben Wallace contributed four valuable points in the pole vault with 14'5 1/4" (4.40m) clearance. Thomas Wang overcame a fall to finish the 110 hurdles and score two points.
Tufts is at Springfield College for the New England Division III Championships next weekend (May 6-7).
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