BOSTON - Senior co-captain Drew DiMaiti of the Tufts University men's indoor track & field team ran 48.80 seconds in the 400 meters to lead the Jumbos at Boston University's David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Saturday.
The time, which was an indoor PR for DiMaiti, improved his national ranking in the event to #10 as of Saturday evening at 7 p.m. He had previously been ranked 19th with a 49.05 time from BU's John Thomas Terrier Classic on January 26. His previous indoor best had been a 48.90 from BU's Valentine meet last season. Today he was 33rd of 182 finishers in the race.
Long a location where the Jumbos have been at their best, BU saw several Tufts personal marks set today. In the 1,000 meters, junior Hiroto Watanabe recorded a 2:29.60 that was both his career best and the team's best this season. He was 28th of 67 in the race. Sophomore Matt D'Anieri laid down a 1:54.32 PR in the 800 meters, finishing 41st ouf of 230 in the race. The mark is #28 on the Division III list.
Sophomores Robert Jones and Jackson Mihm ran PR's in the 200 meters (22.41) and 500 meters (1:05.70), respectively. Four Jumbos had career-bests in the 200, including a 22.66 by promising freshman OJ Armstrong. Sophomore Roman Lovell posted a strong 2:30.93 PR in the 1,000.
In a massive mile run field that saw 347 entries, D'Anieri's 4:23.03 was a 14.55-second PR.
Juniors Anthony Kardonsky and Colin Raposo narrowly missed improving upon their national rankings. Kardonsky had a 7.02 in the 60-meter dash and a 22.01 in the 200 meters. Raposo finished the mile in a 4:15.78 time.
Tufts charges into the championship season next weekend with the New England Division III meet at Middlebury College.
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