Men's Indoor Track and Field Opens 2025 with Strong Showing at Smith-King Invitational

MEDFORD, MA (January 18, 2025) - The Tufts University men's track and field team began their 2025 calendar year with a strong showing at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational in the Gantcher Center, finishing first of six competing teams while earning nine marks in the NCAA Top 100 while claiming the top spot on the podium in seven separate events.

The first victory of the day came through Josh Wilkie in the 60 meter hurdles. Finishing with an 8.26, Wilkie narrowly claimed first place over runner-up Michael Anderson of Springfield College, who finished with an 8.28. The win was the third fastest 60 meter hurdle time of the junior's career, and fastest since a personal best 8.23 on February 17, 2024. Wilkie stayed busy throughout the day, competing in the 200 meter dash and long jump categories. He finished with a 22.84 in the 200 for fourth place, and finished 10th in his first long jump finals with a leap of 5.94 meters (19' 6").

Junior Cam McLeod was the next Jumbo to win his event, finishing first in the 600 meter dash. His 1:24.19 led a pack of five other Jumbos as Tufts swept the top six positions in the category. His fourth fastest time in the category was enough to finish ahead of freshman Miles Sandoski, who ran an impressive 1:24.28 in his indoor debut. Sophomore Ryan Regan was just behind the pair for the bronze finish, running a 1:24.35 ahead of freshman Evan Hankins' 1:25.62 in fourth. The final two Jumbos to cross the finish line were merely seconds behind the front four, with sophomore Ryder Want finishing fifth with a 1:26.92 and senior Jackson Kiefer in sixth with a 1:28.77.

Tufts showed off their team chemistry with solid showings in both the 4x400 relay and the 4x800 relay. The 800 team of Sam Kurian, Liam Lucas, Meba Henok and Ryan Regan finished first with a 8:11.68 nearly 14 seconds ahead of the second place Bridgewater State University Bears. The 4x400 was even more successful for Tufts, with the team of Ryder Kropiwnicki, Naheim Washington, Sebastian Cohen and Evan Hankins finishing second with a 3:30.91. They were not the highest finishing Tufts team in the event, however, with the squad of Ethan Forde, Miles Sandoski, Brady Kamali and Cam McLeod finishing first with a 3:25.35; the 17th fastest time in the NCAA Division III this year.

The Jumbos had a few other strong finishes on the track, with junior William Cusato placing second in heat one of the 1000 meter race with a 2:32.92, his second fastest time in the event. Junior Meba Henok finished just behind Cusato, finishing third with a personal best 2:36.40. Freshman Liam Lucas finished fourth just two-tenths behind Henok, finishing with a 2:36.60 in his collegiate track debut. Freshman Lucas Klein also made his indoor debut, and ran a strong mile in 4:33.37 for third place. Concluding the track events for Tufts was junior Matt Burdulis, who placed second in the 3000 meter run with a new personal best of 9:25.23, almost 10 full seconds ahead of his previous best mark.

On the field, the Jumbos had an incredible day. Junior Martin Decker had the best Tufts finish in the weight throw, placing third with a 14.73m, just 22 centimeters behind his personal best. The four spots behind Decker were all occupied by Jumbos, with the home team sweeping the three through seven positions. Nahom Tsegaye placed fourth with a 14.50m, Tre Williams was fifth with a 14.41m, Eric Meyer finished sixth with a 14.32m and Derek Schmaeling in seventh with a 14.16m.

Freshman Alejandro Rincon made his indoor debut in the pole vault event and finished in third with a 4.00m jump. Sophomore Ryder Kropiwnicki claimed victory in the event, finishing ahead of the field with a 4.15m, the 83rd best time in the NCAA Division III this season.

Tufts stepped up for the high jump event, and managed to cram four athletes into the top three positions. Freshman Luke Benson and senior Karsten Kropp tied for third place with a 1.90m. Senior Edward Kiboma also finished with a 1.90m, but because he passed the bar on his first attempt, he placed second over Benson and Kropp. Sophomore Sami Witta claimed first place for the home team, being the only participating athlete to pass the bar at 1.95m.

When the jumping translated from vertical to horizontal in the long jump, Tufts maintained their strength in the field. Junior Sahr Matturi set the 77th best long jump mark in the NCAA Division III with a 6.59m leap for second place. Junior Casey Lambert finished seventh with a 6.13m and Kropiwnicki placed eighth to round out the scoring positions with a 6.12m.

The triple jump was perhaps the most dominant showing by the Jumbos all day. Benson and Matturi finished first and second respectively, with Benson setting a new sixth best distance in the NCAA Division III with a 14.27m - an impressive feat on his collegiate debut. Matturi wasn't far behind his teammate, jumping for 13.24m and setting a new 57th best mark in the NCAA Division III this season.

The shot put saw three Jumbos achieve scoring positions, as Matthew Carey finished second with a 14.11m toss. Tre Williams finished fourth with a 13.65m, and Nahom Tsegaye placed seventh with a 13.05m. 

The Jumbos scored a total of 241 points, putting them comfortably in first place ahead of Springfield's total of 133.5 points.

Tufts will have a week of rest before making a trip into town to compete in the Middlebury New England Small College Invitational on Sunday, January 26th with events beginning at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston at 10:00 AM.