Teams: Men's Track & Field: Press Releases

Date: Saturday, March 15, 2003

SUMIYOSHI, DEVINE, PITKO EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS

MEDFORD – Three Tufts University winter athletes earned All-American recognition this week based on their performances at the NCAA Division III Track & Field and Swimming & Diving Championships. The top eight at both meets are All-Americans. The swimming & diving meet recognizes finishes 9-16 as honorable mention All-Americans.

On Friday, junior swimmer Mika Sumiyoshi (Fukuoka, Japan/Branford, CT HS) finished fourth in the 400 Individual Medley at the NCAA meet hosted by Emory University in Atlanta on Friday. She finished in 4 minutes, 30.58 seconds to earn All-America honors in the event. On Thursday she was ninth in the 200 IM with a 2:07.99 time. Both of the times improved her own school records. Sumiyoshi did not qualify for the final in the 200 Backstroke on Saturday.

Tufts Track senior tri-captains Greg Devine (Springfield, MA/Central) and Bryan Pitko (Arlington, MA/Arlington) placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 55 Meter Hurdles at the NCAA Championship Meet hosted by DePauw University in Indiana on Saturday. Devine, who posted the top time in Friday' s trials at 7.57 seconds, didn't miss that by much with a 7.60 in the final. Pitko, All-American for the second straight season, finished in 7.79 seconds.

The Tufts Women's Track & Field team sent junior Jessica Trombly (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) and the 4x400 Meter Relay team to the Nationals at DePauw, but neither qualified for the final. Trombly crossed the finish line in 57.58 seconds to finish third in the third qualifying heat. She missed the final by 0.08 of a second. The 4x4 with with sophomore Sika Henry (Upper Montclair, NJ/Mount Saint Dominic), freshman Rachel Bloom (Sharon, MA/ Sharon) and junior Emily Bersin (Orleans, MA/ Nauset) joining Trombly recorded a time of 3:55.68 to finish last (ninth) in the trials. That' s still top 10 in the nation.

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