LEWISTON, Maine - Sophomore Josh Etkind broke the 15-year old Tufts University men's outdoor track & field record for the 110-meter hurdles today at a quad meed hosted by Bates College with MIT and RPI.
Etkind's time of 14.46 seconds was 0.05 faster than the previous Tufts record of 14.51 set by Greg Devine in 2002. Today's time also ranks Etkind #2 in the nation as of Saturday night at 9 p.m. He improved upon his previous season-best of 14.81 seconds. Rowan University junior David Benjamin is #1 in the nation with a 14.22 mark.
Senior co-captain Nick Usoff won two events for the Jumbos at Bates. In the 200 meters, his 22.04 finish was first by 0.03 over MIT's Danny Newman (22.07). Usoff led Tufts' 1-2-3 scoring in the 400 meters with a time of 50.26 seconds. Senior Blake Coolidge (50.91) and sophomore Tommy Doyle (51.08) were second and third, respectively. Usoff's 200 time is ranked #27 in DIII.
Freshman Robert Jones added another sprint victory for Tufts as he took the 100 meters in 10.85 seconds. The Jumbos also scored two victories in the jumps. Junior Stefan Duvivier added to his win total in the high jump, clearing 6'6" (1.98m). Junior Shant Mahrokhian was first in the long jump at 21'11" (6.68m).
In his first decathlon of the spring season, sophomore Henry Hintermeister earned the nation's 14th-best score thus far with 5,252 points. His strongest events were the 100-meter dash, where his 11.59 time scored 734 points, and the 110-meter hurdles, where he had a 16.36 for 693 points.
In the relays, Tufts was first in the 4x1 (43.10) and second in the 4x4 (3:24.62). The 4x1 lined up sophomore Anthony Kardonsky, junior Peter Clark, sophomore Brandon Levenstein and Jones. Junior Andrew DiMaiti, Doyle, Usoff and freshman Billy Witrock comprised the 4x4, whose time ranks 37th nationally.
Tufts had a pair of runner-up finishes in the throwing events. Graduate student Ife Adebayo was second in the hammer throw at 160'4" (48.88m), which gives him a top 50 national ranking. Freshman Kevin Quisumbing placed second in the shot put with 46'8 3/4" (14.24m) distance.
Scoring 169 points, Tufts was third at today's meet. Host Bates won the quad meet with a 230 score. MIT was second (178.5) and RPI was fourth (132.5).
The Jumbos again have a pair of meets on tap next weekend. Some Jumbos will compete at Connecticut College's Silfen Invitational on Friday night. Tufts also hosts the Sunshine Classic on Saturday.
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