Heading into the Div. III New England Championships last weekend, Tufts had already accumulated one first-place and two second-place finishes against quality competition in a season packed with personal bests and school records. After being edged out by a mere two points by Bowdoin at the same meet a year ago, the Jumbos, ranked eighth in the nation prior to the meet, sought to avenge that loss and emerge with a victory.
MIT was the heavy favorite as the defending champion of the meet. Once again, the Jumbos unfortunately had to settle for second, as the Engineers continued their dominant season and capitalized on their home-field advantage to finish with a resounding 38-point win.
But with three individual wins and a host of impressive performances, being the runner-up to MIT -- something that happed previously at the Feb. 1 Tufts Stampede Invite -- suddenly seemed far more palatable.
"We're incredibly pleased with the performances that we've put down this year so far, and everyone in the region knows that Tufts track and field is a force both on the track and the field," sophomore thrower Atticus Swett said. "Not only that, but people know we have a presence on the national level."
The meet was split into two days, with the heptathlon kicking things off on Friday. Senior Andrew Osborne and sophomore Alex Karys placed fifth and sixth, respectively, out of a field of 12.
Karys won the shot put with a throw of 42' 3 3/4", while Osborne won both the long jump and the 60-meter dash. MIT sophomore Adrian Samsel did not win a single component event, but proved to be the most consistent competitor and came away with the overall victory.
As has been the case the entire season, middle distance stole the show, as sophomores Veer Bhalla and Mitchell Black, along with senior Graham Beutler, each recorded a victory.
Bhalla broke the school record previously held by Black in the 600, besting sophomore Kevin Desmond by nearly one and a half seconds.
"I'm feeling super confident after that 600, and I'm hoping to book my ticket in the 800 this weekend," Bhalla said.
Black recorded his second individual victory of the season in the 800, crossing the line just two-tenths of a second before Bowdoin sophomore Jacob Ellis to claim victory with a time of 1:53.99. Black's official personal best time of 1:49.58 in the 800, recorded at the Tufts Stampede Invite, remains atop the national leaderboard. Barring any record-setting performances from other runners between now and mid-March, he should go into Nationals as the favorite to win it all.
This past weekend, Beutler did not run the 400 but rather the 200, notching the third of three individual victories for Tufts. His time of 22.42, while well off his personal best, was enough nonetheless, as he crossed the line just one-tenth of a second before MIT senior tri-captain Tyler Clark-Singer.
Taking over for Beutler in the 400 was sophomore Francis Goins, who took fifth with his time of 50.34.
Senior tri-captain Jamie Norton carried the distance squad on Saturday as the fourth-fastest miler in the country, recording a time of 4:13.15 for a second-place finish. Fellow senior Andrew Shapero also finished second in the 5,000, barely staving off a late kick from Colby junior Jeff Hale.
Although not technically an individual victory, the 4x400 relay team of Black, Goins, Beutler and sophomore Alex Kasemir won its event with a time of 3:21.64, which ranks 10th in the country.
The 4x800 relay team ran its way to a third-place finish, coming in less than two seconds behind NESCAC rivals Bowdoin and Williams.
Off the track, Swett and fellow sophomore Brian Williamson took third and fourth in the shot put. Both throwers recorded personal bests and threw above their seeds, and Williamson, who threw a distance of 53' 5 1/2" to surpass his previous best by almost two feet, broke into the top-20 in the nation.
"Too many guys had great days to pick just one MVP," Swett said. "With that said, [Brian] Williamson showed up big in the shot put."
With Open New Englands looming, Tufts appears to be in prime position for a deep postseason foray.
"We performed great across the board," senior Max Levitin said. "Our energy carried a lot of guys to great performances and will certainly continue to carry us through the rest of indoor into [the] outdoor [season]."
The Jumbos will compete next at Open New-Englands, alternatively known as the All-New England Championships, on Friday and Saturday at Boston University.
