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The weather was hit or miss this past Saturday as the men’s and women’s Track and Field teams traveled to UMass-Lowell for the George Davis Invite. The Judges did relatively well in the second competition of their outdoor season and had numerous individual standout performances. The men performed relatively strongly in the field, but they were able to really excel in the long distance and sprinting events. The women also competed well in every part of the arena. The squad excelled in the jumps, sprints, and long distance events, making a good showing before their championship season in just a few weeks. Strong individual performances led to team success despite the on-and-off weather this past weekend.

Numerous members of the men’s team competed strongly at the competition this Saturday. In the high jump, Frank Longo ’08 was able to jump 5 feet 10 inches, enough to place him fifth for the event. The men also excelled in the triple jump as Shyam Vimal ’09 and Frank Longo ‘08 were both able to jump around 41 feet, earning them 5th and 6th place respectively. These two competitors also raced in the 110-meter high hurdles, where they placed in the top ten for the event. Co-Captain Patrick Gregoire ’09 finished the 100-meter dash in 11.42 seconds, earning him seventh in the event, while teammate Ned Crowley rounded out the sprints with a fifth place performance in the 400 meters. The Judges also performed well in the distance events. Matt Jennings ran close to his personal record in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3 minutes and 58 seconds, placing him in fourth. First-year Dan Anastos also ran well, with a personal record time in the two mile run, finishing the race in 9 minutes and 38 seconds. Ryan Cheng ‘10 also added to the team’s success with a fourth place finish in the steeplechase. The men performed well in numerous events this past Saturday.

The women’s team also performed well at their meet at UMass-Lowell. Olivia Alfrod ’08 led the sprints with a second place finish in the 400-meter dash, completing the event in just less than one minute. In the 800-meter event, Emily Owen ’11 finished sixth with a time of 2 minutes and 25 seconds. The Judges had a strong finish in the 1500-meter run with 3 team members placing. Rookie Marie Lemay ’11 finished in just under 4 minutes and 52 seconds to claim third place for Brandeis. At her back were teammates Grayce Selig ’11 and Beth Pisarik ’10 fifth- and sixth-place finishes respectively. Adie Sprague ’08 put Brandeis on the map in the hurdles with a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter high hurdle event. The Judges also excelled in the field. Suzy Bernier ’10 and Bessie Bianco ’08 jumped over 5 feet to claim third and fourth for Brandeis. Ali Sax, returning to the field from injuries, took fifth in the triple jump. The weather prevented Brandeis from competing in the throws, but these performances nevertheless showed strong depth all around the arena.

Members of the men’s team had positive comments about their recent performance. Co-Captain Dan Suher remarked, “I think everyone is starting to come back around to the shape they were in toward the end of indoors, although we are not quite there yet.” He continued by explaining “since UAAs is in the middle of the spring schedule, we did not exactly peak for the meet, rather it is just another good meet to get some fast times.” Suher finished by saying “I would expect everyone to have some fast time this weekend” where they will be competing at the UAA championships in Chicago.

Members of the women’s team similarly had good remarks about the meet at UMass-Lowell. Co-Captain Katy Agule ‘09 stated, “The meet on Saturday was a great one.” She went on to explain that “everyone’s looking really strong for the upcoming UAA meet and hopefully we can run strong throughout this week and then in Chicago.”

The Judges have the UAA Championships at the University of Chicago over the first weekend of the Passover break. This past meet provided good competition for the Judges as they prepare for the championship season right around the corner.