THE BASICS:
- Locations: Reggie Lewis Center (Roxbury, Mass.); Gantcher Center (Medford, Mass.)
- The Lead: The No. 6 ranked MIT men's track and field team competed at the NEICAAA Championship and the Tufts Branwen Smith-King Invitational over the weekend. The Engineers finished 17th at the NEICAAA Championship and captured the Tufts meet with a total of 133.5 points. Overall, the team set one school record, two MIT rookie records and had seven event wins.
HOW IT HAPPENED AT NEICAAA'S:
- In the 60-meter hurdles, first-year Kenneth Wei (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) finished third in a time of 8.12. The mark is the MIT school record by a .08-second margin and breaks his own rookie record. Wei ran 8.39 in the prelims, followed by a time of 8.16 in the semifinals that placed him second heading into the finals. Wei is now ranked seventh in the country.
- Senior Bobby Upton (Wexford, Pa.) finished in a tie for sixth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 14 feet, 11 inches to rank No. 27 nationally.
HOW IT HAPPENED AT TUFTS:
- Junior Yorai Shaoul (Raanana, Israel) captured the triple jump with the No. 5 jump in the country of 48 feet, nine inches. In the long jump, senior Alec Reduker (Newburyport, Mass.) took that event as he is now 12th in the country with a leap of 23 feet, 2.5 inches.
- First-year McKinley Polen (Los Altos, Calif.) set the MIT rookie record in winning the 60 meters with a time of 7.07 seconds. First-year Jeremiah Budiman (Plano, Texas) was fourth in the 60, crossing in 7.12 seconds.
- Junior Benton Wilson (Dublin, Ohio) won the 200 meters in a season-best time of 22.27 that ranks him 10th in the country. Sophomore Andrew Shao (San Jose, Calif.) was right behind him in second at 23.40 seconds.
- Sophomore Ryan Nall (Lafayette, Calif.) finished second in the weight throw with a personal-best toss of 57 feet, 4.75 seconds. That mark ranks 16th nationally. Sophomore Nathan Basinger (Dalton, Ohio) was sixth with a throw of 50 feet, six inches. Basinger got the best of Nall in the shot put as he placed third, followed by Nall in fifth. Basinger registered a throw of 47 feet, 5.25 inches, while Nall's throw was 45 feet, 7.25 inches.
- In the high jump, Reduker led a trio of Engineers as he won the event with a height of six feet, nine inches. Senior Chris Washington (Frisco, Texas) was second and is No. 22 nationally with a clearance of six feet, 6.75 inches. First-year Steven Marquez (El Centro, Calif.) finished third, clearing six feet, 4.75 inches.
- Sophomore Nick Duchatellier (Dix Hills, N.Y.) won the 400 in 51.10 seconds, followed in sixth at 51.88 seconds by first-year Nisarg Dharia (Novi, Mich.) and Shao in eighth with a time of 52.22 seconds.
- Sophomore Reed Foster (Palo Alto, Calif.) captured the 800 meters in a time of 1:58.97.
- In the pole vault, junior Max Hardy (Houston, Texas) placed third with a height of 14 feet, 1.25 inches as he was followed in a tie for sixth at 13 feet, 7.25 inches by junior Everett Brandyberry (Hill City, Kan.).
- Junior Ellery Rajagopal (Harrison, N.Y.) placed fourth in the 600 meters in 1:23.97, junior Kent Slaney (Palo Alto, Calif.) was fifth in the 1000 at 2:38.35 and sophomore Matthew Kearney (Austin, Texas) finished eighth in the mile with a time of 4:24.47.
TOP-20 NCAA RANKINGS:
- Below are the current top-20 rankings for the Engineers, from meets up to this point in the season as listed at www.tfrrs.org.
200 Meters
10. Benton Wilson - 22.27
60-Meter Hurdles
7. Kenneth Wei - 8.12
High Jump
2. Alec Reduker - 6' 10.25"
Long Jump
12. Alec Reduker - 23' 2.5"
Triple Jump
4. Alec Reduker - 48' 10.25"
5. Yorai Shaoul - 48' 9"
Weight Throw
16. Ryan Nall - 57' 4.75"
20. Albert Menio - 56' 4"
UP NEXT:
- MIT is back in action next weekend as the Engineers again travel to Tufts University to compete in the Tufts Cupid Challenge on Saturday, February 8th.
STAY CONNECTED:
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