The Tufts University Track & Field team is an active participant on the national level each year. In 2000-2001, two members of the Track & Field team competed in NCAA Championship events. Senior Dave Patterson qualified for NCAA Indoor Nationals in the 1,500 (5th place) and 5,000 (14th place) meter runs. For Outdoor Nationals, Dave Patterson qualified in the 3k Steeplechase (National Champion) and sophomore Greg Devine in the 400 Hurdles.
The Tufts Cross Country team has recently enjoyed the most successful seasons in its 85-year history. The 1996 team finished seventh at the NCAA Championship Race and 1997 team narrowly missed a return trip to Nationals while Rodney Hemingway qualified individually and posted the second best Nationals finish in team history. In 1998, Tufts returned to Nationals and raced to 13th, followed by the 9th place finish in 1999, and 11th in 2000, with senior Dave Patterson placing an All-American 19th. Tufts X-C has become a regular at Nationals, supported by the "crazies", the non-top 8 runners who routinely drive to such places as Carlisle, PA and Oshkosh, WI to run around shirtless and painted in sub-freezing weather.
Now in his 18th season at Tufts, head coach Connie Putnam has developed the Jumbos into one of the East's top competitors during the winter and spring seasons. Last year, the indoor track & field was sixth and the outdoor team was 13th at their respective New England Championships. A 1968 graduate of Springfield College, Putnam has coached more than 100 individuals who earned regional and national recognition. Mike Northrop, captain of the 1996-97 teams, was a two-time All-American and a GTE Academic All-American.
Putnam began coaching in 1968 and has amassed more than 600 victories in his career. Prior to coming to Tufts, he was head coach of the women's programs at Springfield College from 1981-84. He was selected NCAA New England Coach of the Year in 1982.
The program at Tufts competes primarily in the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), a league comprised of 11 highly selective schools in New England and New York. Tufts competes against other top New England Division III programs such as Springfield, Brandeis and MIT on a weekly basis. The ECAC Championships provide competition from outside New England, while the All-New England Championships include Division I, II, and III opponents.
The construction of an eight-lane, 400-meter, synthetic outdoor track was completed in August 1989 and dedicated in honor of legendary Tufts coach Clarence "Ding" Dussault. Putnam contributed significantly to the design and construction phases. The complex has been host to numerous New England and ECAC events during the spring seasons.
The new Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation center, completed in November 1999, houses Tufts' indoor track team. This multi-million dollar complex features a 200 meter, six lane (8-lane straightaway) Mondo oval track with fully in-ground Lynx timing, Daktronics Matrix Information Board, multiple jumping and vaulting pits, and throwing area. In addition, the Cousen's Gym Complex houses the old unique, 200-meter, synthetic track with four lanes that also includes space for the field events, including the shot put and weights, pole vault and horizontal jumps. The Gantcher Center has already hosted both the Men's Div III New England Championships and the Women's Div I New England Championships and will host the 2001 Women's Division 1 New Englands and the Men's and Women's ECAC Championships.
A new home cross country course opened in1997 in Grafton, MA, home of the Tufts Veterinary School. The "Farm Course," when not doubling as a hay field, has already hosted 3 ECAC Division 3 Championships, is home to the fast growing Columbus Day Invitational (high school), numerous local high school league championships, and the MIAA "All-State" High School Cross Country Championships. It will also be the site of the 2002 NESCAC Championships.