Just one week away from the Indoor UAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, the Judges Track and Field team sent a small squad to compete at the Open New England Championships last weekend. The meet took place on the banked track at Boston University. Although most of the squad used the meet to prepare for UAAs, several Brandeis runners did well in their races.
The Men shined in the distance events, as Daniel Suher ’08, Mike Stone ’09 and others scored close to or better than their personal bests. Beth Pisarik ’10 was the only member of the Women’s team at the competition, and she scored well in the one mile run.
Both Suher and Stone both ran their personal bests in the mile run, as each finished the race in around 4 minutes and 17 seconds. The Judges also had a few competitors in the three kilometer run. Paul Norton ’11 continued his success, as he finished the race in 8 minutes and 45 seconds. Teammate Mekonen Gendebo ’11 was right at Norton’s back, and both of these athletes finished among the top twenty at the event. Pisarik, meanwhile, was placed in the mile run where she finished with a time of around 5 minutes and 14 seconds. This is close to her best and a strong performance going into UAAs.
Pisarik explained the strategy employed by the coaches in sending only a small squad to compete this past weekend.
“Our coach thought it was best to give people some rest before UAAs,” she said. “I raced because I haven’t done the mile in awhile and I will be racing that at UAAs so this was basically to get me back into it.”
Pisarik commented that she felt strong about her recent performance. “I felt good on Saturday. I ran my personal best by one second, so I was happy with my performance.”
Pisarik finished by looking forward to the UAA competition this upcoming weekend. “I think we can expect strong performances at UAAs this season,” she explained. “People have been working really hard, and although we may be missing some key performers to injuries, as a team, people are really supporting each other.”
Co-Captain Suher was relatively satisfied with his recent performance, as well. “Overall I was happy about my time, although the way it came about was more of a learning experience,” stated Suher.
He also commented about the upcoming competition in Cleveland. “Going into this weekend I have high expectations for myself,” he said. “Whether I run the mile or the 800, I am definitely looking to be All-UAA.”
The Judges have only the UAA Championships and then the NCAA Championships left on their schedule.
