AMY WILFERT AND STEPHANIE MCNAMARA, WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Sophomores Amy Wilfert and Stephanie McNamara made up half of the distance medley relay (DMR) team at this weekend's New England Open Championships, helping to secure a win in the event within a field of Div. I, II and III opponents. Wilfert and McNamara, who were joined by senior tri-captain Jackie Ferry and senior Halsey Stebbins, ran a time of 11:56.73 that was a full second ahead of second place University of New Hampshire. Their finish marked a vast improvement over the team's previous NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 12:08.69, furthering the group's chances of punching its ticket to Nationals in less than two weeks.
Both Wilfert and McNamara came back the following day to run successful open events. Wilfert improved on her provisional qualifier in the mile run, racing a 5:00.85 on BU's banked track to clip down her mark by over three seconds. Wilfert's time was good for sixth in the meet. McNamara posted Tufts' highest finish, claiming third in the 3,000-meter run with 9:57.50 and nailing down a PR in the process. Wilfert and McNamara's events played a large part in helping Tufts to tie Sacred Heart for 11th overall at the meet.
JAMES LONGHURST, MEN'S SWIMMING
In a record-breaking weekend for Tufts swimming, senior quad-captain James Longhurst might have delivered the most impressive performance. The Jumbos set 12 new records at the NESCAC meet in Wesleyan, and Longhurst contributed two of them. The senior was the lone first-place finisher for Tufts on Friday afternoon, winning the 50-yard breaststroke. His time of 25.82 not only set a new Tufts mark, besting Mike Rochette (LA '05) from 2004, but also a conference and pool record. While Longhurst did not win the 100-yard breaststroke on Saturday, his time of 57.54 was enough to set another Tufts record previously set by James Wong ('86) in 1985.
The senior also was a part of a record-setting 200-yard medley relay team that opened Saturday's portion of the meet. Teaming with fellow senior quad-captain Andrew Shields and freshmen E.J. Testa and Owen Rood, the quartet's time of 1:31.04 was almost four seconds faster than the previous Tufts record from 2006. The time was also good for an NCAA A-Cut and made Longhurst a part of another NESCAC record. Overall, Longhurst's performance helped Tufts take second at the conference meet as they narrowly fell to the powerhouse Williams Ephs.
