MEDFORD, MA (January 13, 2024) -- Senior
Luke Botsford and sophomore
Sahr Matturi each won a pair of events Saturday, helping the Tufts University men's track and field squad open the 2024 season with a win of the Tufts Jumbos Invitational from Gantcher Field House.
The Jumbos posted 283.5 points to earn the victory, clearing the other three teams as Springfield College tallied 114 points, UMass Dartmouth adding 60 points and Rhode Island College finishing with 41.5 points.
Botsford was in mid-season form for the Jumbos, as the Jumbo sprinter picked up wins in the 200 and 400 meter dashes. In the 200, he raced to a time of 22.14, good for a New England Regional bid. He also won the 400 with a New England Championships qualifying time of 49.29.
Matturi was stellar in the jumping events, as he finished with a mark of 6.74 meters in the long jump as he passed on the final three events after his winning distance. In the triple jump, Matturi tallied another regional qualifying mark of 13.41 meters for the win with his first attempt.
The Jumbos had a variety of winners on the day, as
Chris Tilton earned the victory in the 600 meters after posting a 1:24.97. First-year
Ryan Regan was right behind him in second place with a 1:24.98, and fellow newcomer
Ryder Want was third overall with a 1:25.02.
In the 3000 meters, sophomore
Calvin Cummings raced to a regional qualifying time of 8:46.06 to earn the win. First-year
Avery Smart was second after crossing the finish line with an 8:50.19, and
Jacob Fippin was third after running an 8:51.23.
In the high jump, returning All-American
Harry Rienecker-Found was the clear victor as he got over the bar at 2.00 meters to earn the victory. First-year
Sami Witta showed well in his first meet as a Jumbo, recording a mark of 1.95 meters to take second as well in the high jump.
Another freshman pair had a great day in the pole vault, as
Ryder Kropiwnicki cleared 4.10 meters to pick up the victory. Classmate
Max Dicker was right behind him with a height of 3.95 meters for second place, tying with senior
Liam Garrison for the runner-up spot.
In the shot put,
Louis Tuccio started the season with a strong performance, winning the shot put with a toss of 14.21 meters. The distance was good enough for a bid to the New England Regional meet. Junior teammate
Petey Lemmon also qualified for the regional meet with a second-place finish after his 14.16 meter toss.
Other strong finishes included
Alex Lemieux finishing fifth in the 60 meter dash finals with a time of 7.05 seconds. First-year
Neil Chowdhury was second in the 400 meters after running a regional-qualifying time of 49.82, and junior
Ethan Forde was also third in the 400 meters with a time of 51.63.
Junior
Alex Friedman was second in the mile with a time of 4:23.67, and sophomore Will Cusato added a fourth-place finish after running a 4:31.84. Eric Mayer led the team in the weight throw with a regional-qualifying mark of 14.60 meters, taking fifth place.
For full results, click
HERE.
Tufts will be back in action next Saturday, hosting the Branwen Smith-King Invitational in Gantcher Field House January 20 at 10 a.m.
--JUMBOS--
