SOMERVILLE, MA (April 20, 2024) -- The last weekend for the Tufts University men's track and field squad before the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships was a success Saturday, as the Jumbos earned the team title in the 2024 Tufts Sunshine Classic on Ellis Oval.
The Jumbos posted 233.5 points on the afternoon, well clear of RPI and it's 182.5 points in second place. Bridgewater State was third with 141.5 points, while UMass Dartmouth took fourth place with 86.5 points.
The fantastic performances came all day for the Jumbos, led by strong jumping efforts from
Edward Kiboma and
Sahr Matturi. Matturi was a winner in the long jump, as he finished with a mark of 7.16 meters. The leap ranks him No. 16 in the country after Saturday.
Kiboma corralled the gold medal in the high jump, posting a new career-best right of 2.03 meters to rank No. 21 in the nation after Saturday's performance. He was part of the top four in the high jump, as
Harry Rienecker-Found was second with a 1.97m leap.
Sami Witta was third with a final mark of 1.92m, and
Karsten Kropp took fourth place with a 1.92 final height.
On the track,
Alex Lemieux was a winner in the 100 meter dash with a finals time of 10.90 seconds. In the 200 meters,
Luke Botsford raced to a gold medal of 21.58 seconds, and then followed that up with a season-best time of 47.75 in the 400 meters for the triumph. First-year
Neil Chowdhury was second in the 400 meters with a time of 48.82.
First-year
Sam Kurian ran a personal-best time of 1:54.62 in the men's 800 meter run on Saturday, taking top finish honors, and fellow newcomer
Meba Henok was eighth in 1:58.06. Senior
Ryan Proulx was the top finisher in the 1500 meter run for Tufts, crossing the line in 4:06.86. Staying in the distance events, junior
Martin Horne was second in the 5000 meters with a season-best time of 15:22.66. Sophomore
Quinn Hampson ran a 15:23.51 for third place as well.
In the 110m hurdles,
Josh Wilkie earned third place with a time of 15.06 seconds while Cameron McLeod finished fifth with a new personal-best of 15.51. Junior
Jay Sharma also made the finals, and took seventh after running a 15.88. McLeod would get a win in the 400 meter hurdles though, as he ran a 54.26 for the win and new PR. First-year
Maxwell Li was fourth in 58.91, and senior
Brian Kwarteng raced to fifth place with a time of 59.14 seconds.
First-year
Harris Gulbransen was the Jumbos' lone runner in the 3000m steeplechase, running a 9:49.13 for the silver medal. In the pole vault,
Liam Garrison was third with his mark of 4.25 meters while
Hunter Farrell was fifth after getting over the bar at 4.10 meters.
The throwing events saw
Petey Lemmon continue his strong form with a second-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 14.89 meters. Senior
Louis Tuccio was third in the shot put with a heave of 14.12 meters, and sophomore
Tre Williams tossed the shot 13.30 meters for a new personal-best.
Junior
Matthew Carey set his new personal-best in the discus with a mark of 41.33 meters, and Lemmon was seventh with a toss of 40.65 meters. Junior
Eric Meyer earned the bronze in the hammer with a mark of 49.36 meters, while teammate
Hyunmin Shin was fifth after his new PR of 46.97 meters.
Junior
Milo Goode was third overall with a throw of 54.76 meters, while
Ross Miller took fourth place after his mark of 53.18 meters.
The Jumbos will now prepare for the NESCAC Championships next Saturday, April 27, hosting the event inside Ellis Oval in Somerville.
--JUMBOS--
