The men's track and field team traveled to Maine on Saturday to compete in the Bowdoin Invitational meet, placing 2nd out of the five-team field. The team's 157 total points were only bested by hosting squad Bowdoin's 174 points.
The Jumbos had first-place finishers in five of the 19 events at the meet, two in running events and three in field events.
The best individual performance of the day came from sophomore sprinter/jumper Bryson Hoover-Hankerson. Throughout the four events in which he competed, Hoover-Hankerson scored 22 points for the Jumbos. His 7.23-second time in the 60-meter dash was good for second-place - especially because he finished with the same time as the first-place finisher.
"The reasoning [for the second-place finish] was that the camera can zoom a ridiculous amount, and I guess he edged me," Hoover-Hankerson said. "Needless to say I would love a rematch to make a clear distinction."
Despite the loss, his time of 7.23 was a personal best, bringing him one step closer to the school record of 7.15 seconds. Hoover-Hankerson would not leave the meet without a first-place finish, though. He jumped 6'2" in the high jump, winning his first collegiate high jump.
Hoover-Hankerson continued his stellar day with a fourth-place finish in long jump, and a seventh-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time. For him, competing in four events was tough but feasible.
"Competing in four different events at a meet is exhausting, but you don't experience the full brunt of the fatigue until you are finished," he said. "Coach [Ethan Barron] does a good job of keeping us challenged but not overworking us. He gets the most of out of us and we get the most out of ourselves during practice and meets. I personally at least like all of the events I do so with that aspect it is fun. It just may be a bit mentally challenging at times."
The most dominant running event at the meet for Tufts was the 3000-meter run. The Jumbos scored 20 of the 31 points up for grabs, starting with 10 points from a first-place finish by freshman Tim Nichols, with a time of 8:51.94. Nichols was backed by a third-place finish from sophomore Michael Curley, and a fourth-place finish from senior Liam Cassidy. Curley and Cassidy posted times of 8:59.47 and 8:59.48, only one-hundredth of a second apart.
The most successful field event for the Jumbos was the long jump, in which the team scored 22 of the possible 31 points. Senior Andrew Osborne placed first with a jump of 20' 9.25" and junior Allan Yau placed second with a jump of 20' 7.75", scoring 10 and 8 points, respectively. Hoover-Hankerson placed fourth, scoring four points.
Tufts' final first-place finish of the day came from junior Brian Williamson in the shot put. His distance of 49' 6.5" earned him 10 points. Sophomore Atticus Swett finished second with a throw of just over 47', good for eight points. Swett earned the team an additional eight points by placing second in the weight throw with a distance of 49' 4.25".
The team will try to use the momentum from a strong performance at Bowdoin for the annual Tufts Stampede this weekend, the Jumbos' second home meet of the year. The meet begins at noon on Friday at the Gantcher Center.
