MEDFORD – The Tufts University men's indoor track & field team won in three field events and took first place in the team standings at the second annual Branwen Smith-King Invitational on Saturday at the Gantcher Center.
Wins by senior Benji Wallace in the pole vault, junior Kevin Quisumbing in the shot put and freshman Tommy Bhangdia led Tufts to 121 team points. They were 14 ahead of second-place Stonehill (107) in the 19-team field. Amherst scored third with 100 points.
Wallace vaulted 14'11" (4.55m) to win the event and earn the #23 national ranking the event as of 8:30 pm Saturday evening. Quisumbing's 49'8 ½" (15.15m) victory was also a top 35 national mark as it landed at #32. Joining the veteran Jumbos in winning was the newcome Bhangdia, who went 21'11 ½" (6.69m) in the long jump.
Senior Josh Etkind added a nationally-ranked mark with his 8.36 time in the 60-meter hurdles. He was second in the final and is at #22 on the national list.
Ben Stein joined Bhangdia in submitting a strong freshman performance for the Jumbos as he placed third in the heptathlon. His 4,231 score converts to a 4,255 banked-track mark which is #26 in the nation. He scored 790 points with his 2:47.71 time in the 1,000 meters on Saturday.
Senior Thomas Doyle's runner-up mark of 1:21.80 in the 600 meters was a PR. Classmate Tommy Miller sprinted to second place in the 60-meter dash, advancing through the preliminaries and semifinals to record a 7.10 time in the final.
Right behind Bhangdia in the long jump was Jumbo senior James Gregoire with 21'7 ¼" (6.58m) distance. Tufts had four of the top five marks in the event overall. Similarly, Tufts placed second through fifth in the 1,000 meters led by freshman Nicholas Delaney's 2:34.89 finish.
The quality of competition at the meet was best represented in the 3,000 meters, where three of the top six national marks in the country were achieved.
The Jumbos have the All-New England Championships next weekend at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, site of the NCAA meet in March. They also compete at home again in the Cupid Challenge.
