Teams: Men's Track & Field: Press Releases

Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Written by Julie Fox

ELEVEN JUMBOS WIN TITLES AS CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON OPENS

MEDFORD -- Championship season is in the air, and athletes on three Tufts winter sports teams responded brilliantly over the past weekend (Feb. 20-22), securing 11 New England Division III and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) titles for the Jumbos.

The women's swimming an diving team brought home two titles from the NESCAC Championships held at Wesleyan Friday through Sunday, while the men's track and field team won three events at the New England Division III Championship meet held at Bowdoin on Saturday. The women's track & field team enjoyed the most success, claiming an incredible six titles at the New England Division III Championship meet held at MIT on Saturday.

Women's track and field finished in second place and was led by senior tri-captain Jess Trombly (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin), who had a hand in three first-place finishes. Trombly won the 55 Meter Hurdles (8.44 seconds) by a very slim .02 seconds, then took the 800 Meter Run (2 minutes, 15.58 seconds) by a slightly larger .12 seconds. She also teamed up with junior Emily Bersin (Orleans, MA/Nauset), sophomore Rachel Bloom (Sharon, MA/Sharon), and junior Sika Henry (Upper Montclair, NJ/Mount Saint Dominic) to bring home the 4x400 Meter Relay title in 3:59.56. This foursome currently holds the fastest time in the country this season with the 3:55.61 they ran last weekend at the Valentine Invitational held at Boston University.

Bersin claimed an individual title of her own in the 600 Meter Run with a winning time of 1:38.80. Senior tri-captain Lauren Caputo (Belmont, MA/Belmont) won the 3,000 Meter Run (10:11.69) by under a second, while sophomore Megan Sears (Washington Depot, CT/Shepaug Valley) won the Indoor Pentathlon with a score of 3,050 points, 158 points ahead of her next competitor.

Three different athletes won the men's track and field team's three titles as they claimed second place overall. Freshman Fred Jones (Northfield, MA) continued his domination of the triple jump by leaping 46 feet, 10 1/4 inches, his best of the season. Junior Ray Carre (Middletown, CT/Xavier) won the 600 Meter Run in 1:22.00, improving the school record in the event. In the distance events, the Jumbos had junior Nate Brigham' s (Penacook, NH/Merrimack Valley) win in the 5,000 Meter Run with a 14:44.47 time, almost three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

In a very successful NESCAC Championship meet where the team finished fourth, women's swimmer Mika Sumiyoshi (Fukuoka City, Japan/Branford, CT HS) stood out with two individual titles. The senior won both the 200 IM (2:06.96) and the 400 IM (4:31.33), automatically qualified for Nationals in both events, and broke her own school record in the 200 by just over a second. Sumiyoshi has won the 200 and 400 IM titles two straight years at the NESCAC meet. A total of eight school records were broken at the meet by the Jumbos.

All three teams have other championship meets to look forward to. The men's and women's track & field teams will compete at the All-New England Championships at Boston University on Friday and Saturday, and will follow that meet with the ECAC Division III Championships at Bowdoin starting on Friday, March 6. The women's swimming and diving team will be sending at least Sumiyoshi to the Division III National Championship meet held at Principia College in Missouri from March 11 to March 13. The team provisionally qualified seven swimmers or relays and will find out which of those will earn a place at Nationals on Thursday (Feb. 26).

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