MEDFORD, MA (March 4, 2023) – Jumbo junior
Luke Botsford solidified a position into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships coming up next week with his time in the 400 meters at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet held at the Gantcher Center today.
Botsford's mark of 48.76 seconds in the 400 today, which converts to a 48.00 due to the banked track surface of the Birmington (Ala.) CrossPlex where the NCAA meet will be held, ties him for seventh place in the national rankings. That improves his previous 48.20 converted time (48.96 original) which would currently be 16th on the national list. With 20 berths expected for the 400, he moved into more comfortable qualifying zone.
This annual meet is a final chance for individuals and relays to post qualifying marks for the NCAA Championships. No team scoring is kept.
Senior
Alex Lemieux ran a season-best 6.90 seconds in the 60-meter dash finals today, but it won't earn an NCAA spot with its #39 national ranking.
The Jumbos also improved their national rankings in the 4x400-meter and distance medley relays, but also were not quite fast enough for the national championship. The 4x4 time of 3:20.38 (3:17.24 converted) ranked #27 in DIII was by put together by Botsford,
Noah Turner, Lemieux and
Chris Tilton. The DMR of
Evan Ensslin, Botsford,
Sawyer Wilson and
Ivan Appleton combined on a 10:03.42 (9:55.34 converted) that is #31 and a Jumbo season-best.
Also at today's meet, freshmen Will Cusato and
Cullen McCaleb both ran season-best times. Cusato's was with his 1:57.60 flat-track time in the 800 and McCaleb's was for a 4:16.23 mile on the flat track.
NCAA qualifiers for next weekend's (March10-11) meet will be announced on NCAA.com tomorrow.
--JUMBOS--
