SOUTH HADLEY, MA (May 3, 2024) — The Tufts University men’s track and field squad started action at the 2024 New England Division III Championships, hosted by Mount Holyoke College Friday in the first day of action. 

The Jumbos saw a variety of strong performances on Friday night, as senior Luke Botsford ran a 10.64 seconds in the prelims of the 100 meter dash to qualify for Saturday’s finals. In the 110m hurdle preliminaries, sophomore Josh Wilkie also earned a spot in Saturday’s finals with a 14.93, fourth after qualifying. 

In the 5000 meters, Tufts posted two runners in scoring position as first-year Jonah Reisner was fifth with a time of 15:03.90 for four points. Fellow first-year Harris Gulbransen was eighth as he crossed the finish line in 15:11.99 to pick up one point. 

In the hammer throw, junior Eric Meyer posted a huge personal-best toss of 51.11 meters to take eighth place, while teammate Martin Decker was 16th overall with a new personal-best heave of 48.64 meters. In the javelin, Randy Hamilton followed up his New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title with a sixth-place finish Friday as he recorded a 56.57 meter throw. 

The long jump saw Tufts continue to rack up the points in the jumping events, as senior Alex Lemieux earned the bronze medal and six points with a jump of 7.05 meters. Senior Carter Rosewell was fifth with a jump of 6.96 meters, chalking up four points for the team total, and sophomore Sahr Matturi also scored in eight place after his final mark of 6.75 meters. 

First-year Ryder Kropiwnicki set a season-best height in the pole vault to earn eighth place Friday, and senior Hunter Farrell also earned a season-best mark at 4.37 meters for ninth place. 

Naheim Washington took 21st in the 100 meters after preliminaries with a time of 11.06 seconds, and Sam Nissen recorded a season-best in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.99 seconds. 

In the decathlon, Cole Anderson finished the first day of action in 11th place as he chalked up 2519 points after the first five events. Anderson had a strong day in the shot put with a toss of 11.01 meters to take third in the event. 

Tufts sits in third place as a squad with 21 points, trailing just Connecticut College and Rhode Island College with 23 points each. 

Action resumes at Mount Holyoke Saturday at 10 a.m. in South Hadley. 

–JUMBOS–