Teams: Men's Track & Field: Press Releases

Tuesday, May 6, 2003

TRACK & FIELD JUMBOS WIN CONFERENCE, REGIONAL TITLES

MEDFORD – The Track & Field championship season is well underway, and as usual the Tufts University teams are making their mark. At both the recent New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and New England Division III Championship meets, Tufts was among the top finishers and earned several individual titles.

Both the Men's and Women's NESCAC championships were held April 26-27 at Williams College. The Jumbos placed second among both fields. Head Coach Kristen Morwick's Women finished with 150 points, 76 behind champion Williams College (226 pts.) and 40.5 ahead of third-place Colby College (109.5). Head Coach Connie Putnam' s Men tallied 119.5 points, narrowly edging out Bates College (119) for second place, and finishing 15.5 points behind champion Williams (135).

Tufts won four individual and two relay titles in total at NESCACs. Each team had two single champions and a relay champ. They also posted numerous runner-up finishes.

On the Women's side, junior Jess Trombly (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) finished first in the 100 Meter Hurdles (14.96 seconds) and also ran the anchor leg in the 4x100 Meter Relay that won in 48.99 seconds. She was joined by senior Myriam Claudio (Woburn, MA/Open Bible Academy), freshman Rachel Bloom (Sharon, MA/Sharon), and sophomore Ayako Sawanobori (Arcadia, CA/Arcadia). Senior Mary Nodine (Portland, ME/Portland) ran 11 minutes, 27.49 seconds in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase to win that title.

Trombly also placed second in the 400 Meter Dash (57.64 seconds) and was second in the Long Jump (17 feet, 1 /14 inches). Bloom was busy herself, taking second place in the 100 Meter Dash (12.78 seconds) and in the 200 Meter Dash (25.85 seconds). Junior Lauren Caputo (Belmont, MA/Belmont) was behind Nodine for second place in the Steeplechase with an 11:37.01 finish. Sophomore Melissa Graveley (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) finished second in the high jump with a best of 5' 4 1/4".

Also earning All-NESCAC honors for the Women (top three finishers in each event) were junior Emily Bersin (Orleans, MA/Nauset) in the 400 Meter Hurdles, in which she was third with a time of 1:05.03, and junior Kate Gluckman (Morrisville, VT/Peoples Academy), who was third in the Discus with a best throw of 121' 9". Claudio also had thirds in the 100 Meter Dash (13.12) and the Pole Vault (10' 6").

On the Men's side, senior tri-captain Greg Devine (Springfield, MA/Central) was first in the 400 Meter Hurdles (53.97) and second in the 110 Meter Hurdles (14.91). Junior Peter Jurczynski (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) made it a sweep of the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase for Tufts by winning the men's race in a time of 9:41.70. The 4x400 Meter Relay team, consisting of sophomore Ray Carre (Middletown, CT/Xavier), freshman Shawn Hansberry (Westford, MA/Westford Academy), freshman Patrick Mahoney (Cranford, NJ/St. Joseph), and freshman Trevor Williams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenandehowa) took first place with a time of 3:19.41.

Sophomore Nate Brigham (Penacook, NH/Merrimack Valley) finished second in the 10,000 Meter Run (31:20.03) and classmate Dan March (Bethesda, MD/Walt Whitman) took second in the Hammer Throw with a distance of 167' 7".

Each of the eight men listed above earned All-NESCAC honors (top 3). Senior tri-captain Bryan Pitko (Arlington, MA/Arlington) also gained conference honors with a third place in the 110 Meter Hurdles (15.32). Devine also had a third in the Long Jump with a 21' 6 3/4" best.

Against their peers in New England on May 1-3, Tufts again came home with four titles. The Men's New England Division III meet was at Bates College, while the Women's meet was contested at Williams. The Women placed third and the Men finished sixth.

Trombly was again the Women's leader, earning two individual firsts and a relay first. She smashed the 400 Meter Hurdles school record in 1:02.28, winning by nearly two seconds and qualifying automatically for the NCAA Championships in the event. She also won the 100 Meter Hurdles in 15.21 seconds. The winning 4x100 Meter Relay team of Claudio, Trombly, Sawanobori and Bloom broke the school record with their time of 48.99 seconds.

Senior Danielle Perrin (Watertown, CT/Taft School) also broke a school record in the Steeplechase by over 8 seconds with an 11:19.79 time for third place. Nodine was right behind her in 11:19.91. The 4x400 Meter Relay Team, with Bersin, Bloom, sophomore Sika Henry (Upper Montclair, NJ/Mount Saint Dominic) and Trombly took second with a 3:55.46 time. Gluckman was the runner-up in the Discus Throw with a best throw of 133 feet flat.

Devine was the only member of the Men's team to medal at New England' s. He won the 400 Meter Hurdles title with a time of 52.01 seconds. That time automatically qualified him to compete at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships to be hosted by Saint Lawrence University on May 22-24. It is tied for the third best time in the country this season. Devine was also third in the 100 Meter Hurdles at New England' s with a 15.19 finish.

He and Trombly are the only definite participants at Nationals for Tufts thus far. Her 1:02.28 400 Meter Hurdles time at New England' s ranks fifth nationally. Trombly is also automatically qualified for the Heptathlon after scoring a school-record 4,707 points in the multi-sport event at the Penn Relays. Several individuals and relays on both squads have either qualified provisionally, or are close, and will look to improve their times at the upcoming All-New England Championships hosted by the University of New Hampshire on May 9-10 and the ECAC Division III Championships at Springfield College on May 15-16.

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