Men's Indoor Track and Field Strides Ahead at New England Small College Invitational

BOSTON, MA (January 26, 2025) - The Tufts University men's indoor track and field team continued their 2025 campaign with a meet at the TRACK at New Balance, participating in Middlebury's New England Small College Invitational on Sunday. The Jumbos claimed victory in two events and put five athletes on the podium after a successful day of competition in Boston.

Freshman Luke Benson continued the hot start to his collegiate career by setting a new personal best in the triple jump, en route to winning the event. His mark of 14.69m was the third best in the NCAA Division III so far this season and was a full 44 centimeters ahead of second place. Junior Sahr Matturi also had a solid jump, placing fourth with a 13.53m mark.

Sophomore Sami Witta finished tied for first place in the high jump, matching the mark set by Middlebury's Sam McGarrahan with a successful 1.95m leap on his first attempt. His mark was the 30th best jump in the NCAA Division III this season. Senior Edward Kiboma also jumped for a 1.95m, but it was on his third attempt, causing him to finish in third. Fellow senior Karsten Kropp was just behind him, finishing in fourth with a 1.90m jump. 

Benson's debut in the long jump was strong, as he finished on the podium with a third place jump of 6.63m. Matturi placed sixth with a 6.42m leap. 

In the throwing circle, junior Tre Williams started strong with a fourth place finish in the weight throw, shattering his old personal best toss (14.67m) with a massive throw of 15.56m. Senior Matthew Carey continued his upward trajectory in the shot put by setting another personal best mark. His throw of 14.35m was his longest by 24cm, and earned him fifth place in the event.

The track saw junior Quinn Hampson take third in the mile run, as he ran for a personal best of 4:18.80 and a spot on the podium. Simon Donovan, Ben Stratton and Charlie Krebs also ran in the mile event. 

Freshman Lucas Chang, competing in his first indoor track meet for Tufts, ran a solid 5000m race. He finished seventh with a time of 15:52.35. Junior Matt Burdulis ran for a personal best 16:02.76, improving his career record by 23 seconds. Sophomore Jonah Reisner ran a quick 3000m race, finishing in fourth. His time of 8:29.36 was also a new personal best and made for a great finish to the distance events for the Jumbos.

Sophomores Meba Henok and Ryan Regan both set new personal bests in the 800m run. Henok finished seventh with a 1:56.89, while Regan came in 10th with a 1:57.25, improving his career best by four-tenths of a second. Senior Noah Turner set a new personal indoor record in the 200m dash, running for a 22.43 and 10th place.

Concluding the day for the Jumbos were the relay events. In the distance medley, the squad of Cusato, Lucas, Donovan and Stratton finished in fourth with a time of 10:41.27. The Jumbos sent three squads to the line for the 4x400m relay. The fastest was the group of Forde, McLeod, Sandoski and Turner, who placed fifth with a time of 3:25.16. Krebs, Kurian, Moreno and McLeod finished seventh with a 3:32.08, and Want, Regan, Hankins and Kiefer placed in 10th with a 3:35.02.

The Jumbos will have a shorter week as they head back down to Boston on Friday for the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University beginning at 3:00 pm. Competition continues on the next day at 10:00 am.