MEDFORD, MA (February 23, 2023) – The Tufts University men's indoor track & field team looks to keep its five-year run of third-place or better finishes at the New England Division III Championships going on Friday and Saturday.
2023 New England Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships
Dates: Friday, February 24 through Saturday, February 25
Location: Boston, MA – The Track at New Balance (91 Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135)
Coverage:
MEET WEBSITE –
LIVE RESULTS –
LIVE VIDEO
The Jumbos are hosting the men's and women's meet at The Track at New Balance, the sparkling new facility located five miles from campus in Boston.
Head coach
Joel Williams' Jumbos won back-to-back New England D3 titles in 2017-18 and have since finished second (2019), third (2020) and third (2022). The 2021 meet was canceled due to COVID.
MIT, the #1 ranked team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll, enters as the heavy favorite. If the Jumbos are to make a run at winning, they'll need their trademark depth to do so.
Tufts is the top seed in two events this weekend, with senior
Carter Rosewell in the heptathlon and the 4x800-meter relay. Rosewell is ranked 14th nationally with the 4696 points he scored in the multi-event at home on January 20-21.Tufts' top 4x8 time of 8:01.59 (converted) was submitted by
Ryan Proulx, Will Cusato,
Jackson O'Toole and
Cullen McCaleb at Tufts' Gantcher Center on February 4.
The Jumbos have two returning New England DIII champions and both will figure heavily into the team's performance this weekend. Senior
Alex Lemieux, the 200 champ last year, is seeded fifth in the 200 this season (21.99) as well as ninth in the 60-meter dash (6.98). He also plays a part in the team's fourth-ranked 4x400-meter relay (3:22.70) with
Josh Wilkie,
Ethan Forde and
Luke Botsford.
Reinecker-Found, like Lemieux an All-American, is ranked second in the high jump regionally. He cleared 2.04m at Tufts on January 21, which ranks 11th nationally. He's supported in the event this weekend by sophomore
Karsten Kropp whose 2.00m season-best is 22nd in Division III and seeded fifth in this weekend's meet.
Junior
Luke Botsford will also look to make multiple scoring contributions. He's the #3-seed in the 200 meters, where his time of 21.82 seconds is #29 nationally. He's also seventh in the 400 (49.14) and part of the 4x4. Similarly, national qualifier
Drew Svoboda should be poised for the start of the championship season as the fourth-seed in the long jump (6.92m) and 17th in the high jump (1.90m).
Wilkie, perhaps Tufts' top freshman this season, should also be a contributor in multiple events. In addition to leading off Tufts' top time in the 4x4 this season, he's also the #5 seed in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.32 seconds (national top 40) and is eighth in the 200 (22.24). Junior
Jackson O'Toole is another whom the Jumbos hope can show up at the top of the results sheet on a few different occasions. He's #3 for the 1000 meters (2:30.32) and has helped the 4x8 and the distance medley relay (DMR) post their top times this season. In the season-best DMR of 10:08.53 he was joined by
Chris Tilton, Cusato and McCaleb.
Like in the 200, the Jumbos have three runners seeded among the top eight in the 600. That includes Tilton third (1:21.72), senior
Marcus Hardy fifth (1:22.88) and freshman
John Puka seventh (1:23.46). Tufts will look to be better than its seeds in several mid-distance and distance events to grab points.
Sawyer Wilson is ranked eighth in the 800 at 1:53.96 and
Ivan Appleton's 4:14.71 is 10th in the mile. The Jumbos' top distance entries are McCaleb with an 8:27.47 in the 3K and Proulx's 14:53.46 in the 5K (19th).
Likewise, the Jumbos hope for season-best marks in the pole vault, triple jump and throwing events to add important points. Junior
Liam Garrison's Tufts-best 4.45m in the vault ranks 13th in the meet. Freshman
Sahr Matturi is the team's top man in the triple (13.52m). Junior
Louis Tuccio and sophomore
Petey Lemmon look to bring home top-eight scores in the shot put and weight throw.
Along with the favorites from MIT, Williams College, Rhode Island College, Trinity College (Connl), Connecticut College and Eastern Connecticut State University have had strong seasons and will challenge with the Jumbos for top five team-scoring positions.
--JUMBOS--
