Braga Shines at Harvard; Men's Track & Field Finishes Eighth at Tufts Saturday
Links: Results (Harvard) | Results (Tufts)
MEDFORD, Mass. – While sophomore John Braga (North Reading, Mass.) finished sixth in the Heptathlon and Pentathlon at the Beantown Challenge, hosted by Harvard University, the rest of the Merrimack College men's track & field team finished eighth (out of 14 teams) at the Tufts Winter Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
The Basics
Events: Tufts Invitational and Beantown Challenge
Top Finishers: John Braga (6th | Heptathlon and Pentathlon), Denzel Livingston (1st | Long Jump)
Location: Gantcher Center (Medford, Mass.) and Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)
What They Said
Head Coach Jacky Mendes: "We are very excited about how hard John [Braga] has worked so far this season and are looking forward to all he will accomplish this year. Today was a great day for him, as well as the rest of our team, which was competing in its first full meet of the indoor season at Tufts."
How It Happened
As the only Division II athlete in a 19-person field, Braga hit the NCAA provisional mark with his sixth-place finish in the Heptathlon and Pentathlon at Harvard University. During the event, he set personal records in the 60-meter dash (7.27), shot put (31-4.5), high jump (6-5), 60-meter hurdles (8.93) and the 1,000 (2:51.33).
At Tufts, Denzel Livingston (Billerica, Mass.) won the long jump event, finishing with a mark of 6.81 meters. Taylor Jean-Gilles (Woburn, Mass.) finished fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.05 while John Spencer (North Haven, Conn.) finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.97).
Rounding out the noteworthy men's performances at Tufts, in the high jump, freshman Kenny Clarke took sixth place with a jump of 1.93 meters. That distance was the top mark among all Division II performers in that event.
Up Next
The Warriors will take part in the Bowdoin Invitational next Saturday in Maine.
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