SOMERVILLE, MA (March 30, 2024) — The Tufts University men’s track and field squad posted seven NCAA Top 50 performances on Saturday, helping the Jumbos cruised to a team victory at the 2024 Tufts Snowflake Classic on Ellis Oval. Tufts accumulated a whopping 312 points on the day, 214 more than the second-place finisher Babson College and it’s 98 points. 

Along with the seven national marks, Tufts picked up eight victories during the meet. Starting on the track, senior Luke Botsford picked up wins in the 200 meters and 400 meters, as he ran a 21.51 in the 200 for the 12th best time in Division III this season thus far. He also earned the win in the 400 meters with a time of 48.01, which ranks No. 7 in the country. 

Sophomore Josh Wilkie was a winner in the 110 high hurdles, as he ran a 15.74 in the preliminaries before bettering that with a 14.92 in the finals. The time is the 18th fastest in Division III this spring so far. Cameron McLeod was second in the 110 hurdles with a 15.83, and then earned a win in the 400 hurdles with a time of 54.66. The time in the 400 hurdles for McLeod ranks him 16th in the country after Saturday’s meet. 

In the high jump, first-year Sami Witta would pick up the victory as he posted a height of 1.87 meters. Senior Harry Rienecker-Found and Karsten Kropp were tied for second in the high jump with marks of 1.86 meters as well, but with more misses accumulated than Witta. Edward Kiboma also got over 1.87 meters, but was fourth overall. 

Botsford won his third event of the day in the long jump, as he flew to a distance of 6.62 meters which was a personal-best. Classmate Alex Lemieux was also second in the long jump with a 6.53 meter mark, and sophomore Sahr Matturi earned the bronze with a 6.46 meter leap. 

Another win came in the men’s javelin throw, as sophomore Randy Hamilton topped the leader board with a toss of 57.93 meters for the victory. Teammate Milo Goode was third with a 54.19 meter throw, and Ross Miller earned fourth after his 53.04 meters performance. 

Other NCAA Top 50 times came from Jay Sharma in the 400 hurdles, as he took third place after running a 56.34. Alex Friedman was first in the 3000 meter steeplechase, running a new personal-best 9:37.85. Also in the steeplechase, Ryan Proulx was third with a 10:01.82. 

The Jumbos 4×100 meter relay posted the 17th fastest time in Division III this season, earning a win as Alex Lemieux, Botsford, Noah Turner and Neil Chowdhury raced to a gold medal finish of 41.86 seconds. The 4×400 relay of Brian Kwarteng, McLeod, Maxwell Li and Sharma was first after crossing the line in 3:30.24. 

The 100 meter dash saw two Jumbos earn spots in the finals, as Sam Nissen and Naheim Washington had strong days. Nissen ran a top time of 11.25 in the prelims, while Washington posted a collegiate PR of 11.06 in the semifinals before taking eighth in the finals. 

In the 200 meters, Alex Lemieux was third overall with a time of 22.32, and Neil Chowdhury ran a 49.04 in the 400 meters for second place. Junior Ethan Forde was third as well in the 400 meters, running a time of 49.81, and Noah Turner took fourth with a 50.46. 

First-year Meba Henok had his best outing as a Jumbo in the 800 meter run, taking third place with a 1:58.70, and senior David Manning was fifth in the 800 as well with a 1:59.11. First-year Simon Donovan was the top finisher in the 1500 meter run for Tufts with a 4:05.56 for fourth place and fellow newcomer Harris Gulbransen earned fifth in the 5000 meters after running a 15:05.33. Avery Smary was fourth in the 10000 meters after running a 32:06.75, and sophomore Matt Burdulis was sixth in the 10K with a 33:59.09. 

Senior Liam Garrison cleared the bar at 4.25 meters Saturday in the pole vault to take second place, and first-year Ryder Kropiwnicki was third after posting a cleared height of 4.25 meters as well.

Senior Petey Lemmon had a strong day outside for the Jumbos, as he was third in the shot put with a mark of 14.82 meters, and senior Gus Bickert came in fourth place after his toss of 13.73 meters. Louis Tuccio also was fifth in the shot put with a 13.65 meter heave. 

Lemmon had a personal-best in the discus on Saturday, as his throw reached a distance of 41.62 meters for second place. Junior Eric Meyer was third in the discus with his 40.44 meter toss. The hammer throw saw sophomore Martin Decker take third place, as his second toss of the day reached 46.13 meters. Tuccio was fourth in the hammer with a 42.92 meter throw, while Hyunmin Shin earned fifth place with a distance of 42.60 meters. 

Tufts will return to action next weekend at the Amherst College Invitational Saturday, April 6 at 10 a.m. in Amherst, MA. 

–JUMBOS–