After over a month of winter hiatus, the Men and Women’s Track and Field teams competed in their first meet of the New Year on Saturday. The competition was held over two hours away at Bowdoin College, and contained a small field. The University of Southern Maine, Connecticut College and Bowdoin competed against Brandeis at this relatively laid-back meet. Even though the Judges hadn’t competed for weeks, strong individual and team performances stood out. The Men ended up finishing in third, while the women were just four points shy of taking the meet, winding up in second.
The Men were able to take third place, despite holding people out of the 4×400 meter relay, among other events. Captain Patrick Gregoire ’09 finished the 55 meter race in second with a time of 6.79 seconds. The Judges were also able to claim second in the 400 meter race, as Ned Crowley ’10 finished with a time of 53.19. Brandeis was also able to claim third, fourth and fifth in the 1 mile run as Mike Stone ’09, Dan Anastos ’11 and Mekonen Gendebo ‘11 placed respectively.
The Judges also took first and second place in both the 800 meter and 1000 meter events, as the strong distance squad made its presence known. Frank Longo was able to place in the hurdles and the triple jump, while the Judges were also able to gain third and fourth place in the high jump. Senior David Gay tossed the shot put over 33 feet to earn him fourth place and put Brandeis on the scoreboard in the throws.
For the Women, Sandra Canuto ’08 placed second in both the 55 and 200 meter dashes. Brandeis continued its successes in the sprints, as Olivia Alford ’08 and Michelle Gellman ’11 took first and second place in the 400 with times of just above one minute.
The Judges also gained first place finishes in the one mile and 600 meter races and took the top two positions in the 800 meter race to continue their grasp on the mid-distance events; Brandeis was also able to win the 4 by 200 meter relay and the 4 by 400 meter relay by wide margins as well.
The Women also dominated the field events, as Suzanne Bernier ’11 was able to take the high jump while Ali Sax ’09 finished first in the long jump. Sax was also able to take the triple jump, adding to the Judges’ success in the field.
The Judges had varied comments about their performances this weekend and about their prospect for the upcoming season. “The sprinters need a much better team cohesion and better recruitment,” commented Gregoire. “We could have done better [at Bowdoin] but it was an effective warm-up for the upcoming season.”
Other athletes felt that the team’s standing was relatively strong. “It was a small, laid-back meet,” commented Crowley, “but our athletes had strong performances across the board.” Runners on the distance squad were also satisfied with the meet. “I think the team performed incredibly well,” observed Kerwin Vega ’11, “especially this early in the season.”
Members of the women’s team also expressed positive sentiments about the recent competition. Sprinter Sheryl Seller ’11 was satisfied with her first collegiate race. “I think the meet provided a good basis for the rest of the season,” stated Seller. “We now know what we can do and we also know that we can do better.”
The next meet for the teams comes this Saturday as they tackle a number of New England squads at home. This recent competition served as a warm-up for the squads as they move onto bigger meets later in the season.
