Teams: Women's Track & Field: Press Releases

Date: Monday, April 29, 2002

JUMBOS WIN FIVE EVENTS AT NESCAC TRACK & FIELD MEET

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University men's and women's outdoor track & field teams opened the outdoor championship season with fine performances at the 2002 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships at Bates College April 27-28.

Run under terrible rain and sleet conditions, the Jumbo women earned second place and the men were third in the 11-team conference. Head Coach Kristen Morwick's women edged Colby College by three points to take runner-up honors with 101 points, far behind champion Williams 208.5 total. The men were a comfortable third with 117 points, with Williams also taking the men's title at 216 points.

Junior hurdler Greg Devine (Sprinfield, MA/Central) earned the Frank Sebastianski Award as the meet's most outstanding male performer. He won the 110-Meter Hurdles with a time of 14.91 seconds, then took the 400-Meter Hurdles by finishing in 53.99 seconds. Senior J.R. Cruz (Centereach, NY/Centereach) won the 10,000 Meter Race to open the meet with a 31:26.85 time.

Sophomore Jess Trombly (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) was a two-time winner in the women's meet. Her 15.82-seconds time won the 100-Meter Hurdles, then she leaped 16-feet, 3 3/4-inches to win the Long Jump. She was also third in the 400 Meter Run with a 59.08-seconds finish.

Two runner-up efforts aided the Tufts women's effort. Junior co-captain Myriam Claudio (Woburn, MA/Open Bible Academy) finished second in the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 13.07 seconds. Senior Sarah Leistikow (Lafayette, CO/Centaurus) placed second in the Heptathlon with 3,725 points.

The men used four third-place finishes to accumulate points: freshman Raynald Carre (Middletown, CT/Xavier) in the 400 Meters (50.15 seconds), freshman Nate Brigham (Penacook, NH) in the 10,000 Meters (32:03.33), junior Bryan Pitko (Arlington, MA/Arlington) in the 110-Meter Hurdles (15.14 seconds) and senior Jason Mann (Rosemont, PA/Germantown Friends) in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase (9:30.69).

The New England Division III Outdoor Championships are up next for the Jumbos. The men will compete at Williams, the women at Springfield next weekend (May 3-4).

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