THE BASICS:
- Location: The Gantcher Center (Tufts University - Medford, Mass.)
- The Lead: On Saturday at the Tufts University Last Chance Qualifier, No. 8 MIT men's track and field competed in 10 individual events and one relay as this meet was the final one before next week's NCAA Division III Indoor Championship. Overall, MIT has six individual entrants and the distance medley relay team for nationals.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Sophomore Liam Ackerman (Miami, Fla.) captured the pole vault and clinched a spot at nationals with a height of 16 feet, which was a personal best by 4.25 inches. Senior Scott Cameron (Dublin, Ohio) also competed, finishing in eighth with a clearance of 13 feet, 11.25 inches. In the high jump, first-year Caleb Harris (Franklin, Tenn.) ended up fourth place as he posted a height of six feet, 3.25 inches on his first attempt at the mark.
- In the distance medley relay, the Engineers moved into the national performance list with a time of 9:59.81 that placed them third overall. Converted to 9:51.78, the team of junior Simon Alford (Dublin, Ohio), sophomore Benton Wilson (Dublin, Ohio), first-year Aiden Foucault Etheridge (Leverett, Mass.) and senior Aidan Gilson (Florence, Mass.) sits in sixth place nationally.
- Senior Jon Fakkema (Blaine, Wash.) finished second in the shot put and sixth in the weight throw, posting marks of 50 feet, 5.25 inches and 56 feet, three inches, respectively. Finishing 10th in the weight throw was junior Albert Menio (East Stroudsburg, Pa.), who posted a throw of 52 feet, 2.5 inches on his third and final attempt of flight 1.
- The Engineers had four runners entered on the track, including first-year Nick Duchatellier (Dix Hills, N.Y.) in the 400m with a time of 50.62 seconds that placed him sixth. First-year Andrew Mah (Newton, Mass.) ran 15:24.01 in the 5,000m and was seventh, while sophomore Kent Slaney (Palo Alto, Calif.) placed 11th in the mile in 4:32.25.
- First-year Matthew Kearney (Austin, Texas) finished in fifth in the 3,000 meters as he ran a time of 8:34.16.
TOP-20 NCAA RANKINGS:
- Below are the final top-20 entries for the Engineers, as listed on www.ncaa.com for the final national qualifiers list.
Distance Medley Relay
6. Simon Alford, Benton Wilson, Aiden Foucault Etheridge, Aidan Gilson - 9:51.78
200m
16. Benton Wilson - 21.70
Mile
6. Aidan Gilson - 4:08.93
5,000m
8. Josh Rosenkranz - 14:29.39
High Jump
1. Alec Reduker - 6' 10.75"
Pole Vault
10. Liam Ackerman – 16'
Triple Jump
2. Yorai Shaoul - 49' 1.75"
UP NEXT:
- MIT wraps up the 2019 indoor season on March 8-9 at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship, which will take place at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
