Teams: Men's Track & Field: Press Releases

Monday, March 8, 2010

FALLER, ENGELKING & DMR SET TO COMPETE AT NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Senior Jesse Faller is no stranger to NCAA competition

MEDFORD -- Five members of the Tufts University men's indoor track & field team will soon be en route to Greencastle, Indiana for the 2010 NCAA Division III Championship meet at DePauw University this weekend (Mar. 12-13).

The Jumbo distance medley relay (DMR) of sophomore Ben Crastnopol (Doylestown, PA), senior Jesse Faller (Burlington, MA), senior quad-captain Billy Hale (Menlo Park, CA), and senior Matt Tirrell (Burlington, MA) will run on Friday (Mar. 12) at 6:05 pm (EST). Faller also qualified in the 5,000 meters, which is the signature individual event at the NCAA's and will go off on Saturday (Mar. 13) at 3:55 pm. Senior quad-captain Jared Engelking (Westborough, MA) is in the pentathlon field, with the five events all taking place on Friday.

The DMR qualified at the last moment, running a 9:59.97 time (converted from 9:56.97) at the IC4A Championships hosted by Boston University last Saturday. Faller and Hale were members of Tufts' DMR last year, which finished third at the 2009 NCAA Indoor meet with a 10:04.25 time. Both earned All-American honors.

Faller took home two All-American honors last season. In addition to the DMR, he was fourth in the 5,000 meters with a 14:35.46 time. This year, he qualified in the 5K with a 14:34.07 time that is seeded seventh. The time is converted from his 14:30.47 at the season-opening Husky Carnival on December 5, held on Northeastern University's banked track. Including three cross country All-American performances, Faller enters the meet with five All-American awards in his Tufts running career. He was also an NCAA 5K qualifier outdoors in 2009 and 2008.

Engelking was the final qualifier in the pentathlon, ranking 12th with his 3,529 score that won him the ECAC Championship this past Friday at Smith College. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships last spring, Engelking placed third in the decathlon scoring 6,834 points for All-American honors.

Coach Ethan Barron's Jumbos placed 14th at the NCAA Indoor meet last year.

►2010 NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships website

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