GENEVA, Ohio - Sophomore Josh Etkind and senior Tim Nichols ran All-American times on the final day of the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday helping Tufts University place 16th at the meet.
Etkind finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles final with a school-record time of 12.37 seconds on Saturday. In the final individual race of the 2017 championship meet, Nichols was fifth in the 5,000 meters with a 14:29.19 time.
Nichols' fifth-place finish scored four team points for Tufts and Etkind added one point with his eighth-place effort. Adding junior Stefan Duvivier's third-place finish in the high jump on Saturday (6'10 3/4" - 2.10m) for six points and Nichols' fourth place in the 10K on Thursday (30:05.99) for five points, head coach Joel Williams' Jumbos totaled 16 team points to tie for 16th place.
Etkind broke the Tufts 110-meter hurdles record for the second time today. He first eclipsed the original 14.51 mark held by Greg Divine since 2002 with a 14.46 finish at the Bates College Invite on April 8. He cut the 0.09 off his own school record today to earn his first career All-American award. At his first NCAA meet appearance indoors back in March, Etkind had been 14th in the 60-meter hurdles (8.42).
Nichols capped both an outstanding 2016-17 season and a great career at Tufts with today's race. The All-American honor in the 5K is his second at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor meet including his fourth-place finish in the 10K on Thursday. He finished the 2016-17 year with four All-American honors including winning the 5,000 meters race at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships and placing third at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships. For his career, Nichols leaves Tufts with six All-American honor including a sixth in the 2016 NCAA Outdoor 10K and a 19th at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country race.
Also on Saturday for the Jumbos, sophomore Christian Swenson finished 14th in the 1,500 meters final with a 4:05.28 time. He was competing in his first-ever NCAA event for the Jumbos.
Today's action concluded an outstanding season for Jumbo Men's Track & Field. They won the New England Divsion III indoor title at home back in February, took second in the NESCAC and New England Division III outdoor championships and were top 20 at both NCAA competitions. They had six All-American performances with three by Nichols and one each by Duvivier, Etkind and sophomore Hiroto Watanabe (eighth in NCAA Indoor 800).
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