Teams: Men's Track & Field: Press Releases

Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Written by Julie Fox

TRACK & FIELD TEAMS PLACE 21 ATHLETES ON ALL-NESCAC LIST

MEDFORD – Nearly two dozen Tufts University Outdoor Track & Field athletes earned All-New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) accolades after their performances at the conference championship meet hosted by Trinity College on April 24. The All-NESCAC teams are made up of the top three finishers from each event at the NESCAC Conference Championships held at Williams College on April 24.

Together the Tufts teams earned 21 all-conference selections. Men's Track and Field placed 12 athletes on the All-NESCAC team. Freshman Fred Jones (Northfield, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon) was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Head Coach Connie Putnam' s Jumbos placed third at the Championships with 128 points to champion Williams' 158. Women's Track and Field placed nine athletes on the team. Head Coach Kristen Morwick' s bunch scored 141.5 points at the meet, second only to Williams' 247 points.

Continuing his strong rookie campaign in both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, Jones placed first in both the Triple Jump (46 feet 7 1/4 inches) and the Long Jump (21 feet 1 1/2 inches).

Also turning in first-place finishes for the Jumbos were sophomore Seth LaPierre (Auburn, NH/Memorial) in the Pole Vault and freshman Josh Kennedy (Guilford, CT/Hopkins School) in the 10,000 Meter Run. LaPierre's best mark was a 15 foot, 1/2 inch vault, the same as second-place finisher Matthew Ondra from Bates. However, LaPierre had fewer misses than Ondra, leading to his victory in the event. Kennedy ran the 10,000 Meters in 32 minutes, 33.88 seconds, less than eight seconds ahead of the second place finisher, teammate and fellow All-NESCAC honoree Peter Bromka (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel). Bromka finished in 32:41.67.

The Jumbos also had two runners finish in the top three in the 5,000 Meter Run. Junior Nate Brigham (Penacook, NH/Merrimack Valley) finished second in 15:11.50, while junior Matt Lacey (Amherst, MA/Amherst) finished third in 15:14.04. The 4x400 Meter Relay team of Ray Carre (Middletown, CT/Xavier), Nate Cleveland (Auburn, ME), Patrick Mahoney (Cranford, NJ/St. Joseph), and Trevor Williams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) placed third in the event, running the race in 3:21.10, a mere .07 seconds behind second place Bowdoin and only .72 seconds behind first place Williams.

Rounding out the All-NESCAC honorees from Tufts are senior tri-captain Peter Jurczynski (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) in the 3000 Meter Steeplechase and sophomore Brandon Udelhofen (Cuba City, WI/Cuba City) in the Discus Throw. Jurczynski's time of 9:39.08 was good enough for second place, while Udelhofen's throw of 136 feet, 9 inches earned him third place.

On the Women's team, both senior tri-captain Jessica Trombly (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) and sophomore Rachel Bloom (Sharon, MASharon) were honored for two individual events and the 4x100 Meter Relay. Trombly finished second in both the 400 Meter Dash (59.06 seconds) and the Long Jump (17 feet, 1 1/4 inches), finishing a mere 1/4 inch behind first place Joyia Chadwick from Williams in the Long Jump. Bloom finished second in both the 100 Meter Dash (12.62) and the 200 Meter Dash (25.65). Also finishing in the top three of the 100 Meter Dash for the Jumbos was freshman Jillian Warner (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central), who had a time of 12.78. Trombly, Bloom, and Warner were joined by senior Shushanna Mignott (Hartford, CT/Loomis Chaffee) on the second-place 4x100 Meter Relay team that finished with a time of 49.42 seconds.

Senior tri-captain Lauren Caputo (Belmont, MA/Belmont) and freshman Sarah Crispin (Auburn, ME/Edward Little) won NESCAC titles for the Jumbos. Caputo topped second-place teammate Rebecca Ades (Shelburne, VT) in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase, as Caputo ran 11:21.96 compared to Ades' 11:29.76. Crispin took first place in the 800 Meter Run by less than a second, winning with a time of 2:17.56.

Rounding out the Jumbos' All-NESCAC honorees are senior Emily Bersin (Orleans, MA/Nauset) in the 400 Meter Hurdles and junior Melissa Graveley (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) in the javelin throw. Bersin's time of 1:06.82 was good enough for third place, while Graveley's throw of 106 feet also earned her third place.

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