SOMERVILLE, MA (April 27, 2024) -- Behind massive performances from the jumping and throwing groups, the Tufts University men's track and field team won their third consecutive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title Saturday afternoon on Dussault Track inside Ellis Oval on the campus of Tufts. The Jumbos saw the high jump, long jump and javelin groups accumulate a combined 73.5 points, providing the difference as Tufts bested Amherst College by 22.5 points after chalking up 173.5 points for the win.
The Jumbos scored in all but four events Saturday afternoon, while winning nine events to help bolster the scoring.
Senior
Luke Botsford continued his dominant spring season for the Jumbos on the track, as the sprinting star chalked up wins in the 200 and 400 meters, running a pair of NESCAC meet record times. Botsford ran a new personal-best time in the 200 meter dash, as he raced to a school-record time of 21.06 which ranks No. 6 in Division III this season. Botsford then ran a new PR in the 400 meters as well, as his new school record and PR of 47.08 was the fifth-best time in the nation. Botsford wasn't done, as his long jump effort of 6.70 meters was also a career-best, taking 10th place.
The wins kept coming all day as sophomore
Josh Wilkie earned a gold medal in the 110 hurdles, running a new collegiate-best time of 14.84 seconds to pick up the 10 points. Teammate Cameron McLeod also established a new PR in the 110 hurdles, as his finals time of 15.27 second was good for fourth place and five points. McLeod then ran a new PR in the 400 hurdles, taking the silver medal after crossing the line in 54.02 seconds.
The 4x100 meter relay squad of
Alex Lemieux, Wilkie,
Noah Turner and Botsford also established a new school and NESCAC meet record, earning the win with a time of 41.32 seconds.
In the jumping areas,
Karsten Kropp led a group that saw the Jumbos go 1-2-3-5 in the event. Kropp cleared 2.03 meters, a new personal-best height for him, as he earned the NESCAC title in the event. Senior
Harry Rienecker-Found was the silver medalist with a 1.96 meter jump, picking up eight points, and junior
Edward Kiboma earned bronze with his final height of 1.96 meters. First-year
Sami Witta was fifth after clearing 1.92 meters for 3.5 points.
The long jumpers didn't want to be outdone, as that group posted a 1-2-3 finish as well as Lemieux chalked up a massive personal-best leap of 7.32 meters for the gold medal and NESCAC title. Senior
Carter Rosewell was the runner-up and silver medalist with a 7.18 meter leap, a personal-best, while
Sahr Matturi was third after finishing with a 7.10 meter mark, a personal-best as well. Matturi would take fifth in the triple jump, as he tallied four points with a 13.73 meter jump.
The throws were another strength on Saturday, as
Petey Lemmon posted a pair of monster personal-best throws. In the discus, Lemmon earned NESCAC champion honors after posting a heave of 44.40 meters, and then followed that up by earning a fourth-place finish in the shot put with his PR of 15.74 meters. Senior
Louis Tuccio was fifth in the shot with a new PR of 14.61 meters, and then led the Tufts contingent in the hammer with a new PR of 49.40 meters for fifth place.
Eric Meyer was also eighth in the hammer with a 47.93 meter toss.
The javelin was also stellar for the Jumbos, as Tufts posted a total of 22 points in the event. Sophomore
Randy Hamilton was crowned as the NESCAC champion in the javelin after his throw of 59 meters on his first attempt. Junior
Milo Goode was the silver medal recipient after a throw of 56.13 meters, while junior
Ross Miller took fifth place with a heave of 52.62 meters.
Other strong performances included Lemieux in the 100 meter dash, as he ran a time of 13.26 seconds for eighth place. Junior
Naheim Washington ran a collegiate-best time of 11.05 seconds in the 100 meter dash, while
Noah Turner was sixth in the 400 meters after running a new PR of 48.72 seconds.
In the 10000 meters, first-year
Avery Smart earned one point for the Jumbos with his time of 31:29.25. In the 3000m steeplechase,
Alex Friedman was sixth overall with a new PR time of 9:23.32, and first-year
Harris Gulbransen was ninth after running a collegiate-best 9:36.08.
Amherst finished with 151.5 points on the day to take runner-up accolades, while Williams College was third with 117.5 points. Bates College earned fourth place after chalking up 110 points, and Middlebury College was fifth with 76 points.
Tufts will now compete in the Division III New England Championships Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.
--JUMBOS--
