Featuring schools from all across New England, Brandeis’ men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at American International’s Yellow Jacket Invitational this past Saturday. This tournament held significance, as the team’s results were necessary for their advancement to the ECAC Championship. As this invitational event encompassed an assortment of runners from Division I, II and III, the Judges faced varying levels of competition.
The women’s team on Saturday placed 14th at the John G. Hoyt Track and Field Complex. This accomplishment can be particularly attributed to Kelsey Whitaker ’16 and Amelia Lundkvist ’14. Both runners competed in the 1,500-meter run and managed to attain the top two spots. Whitaker finished first in the race with a time of 4:41.39 followed by Lundkvist in second at 4:45.98. Earning these positions is particularly notable, as this event was contested against 91 total competitors of varying divisions. Maggie Hensel ’16 and Maddie Dollins ’17 also participated in this event, earning 19th and 22nd places, respectively.
Other events the women’s team competed in included the 200- and 400-meter dashes as well as the javelin throw. Ashley Hebard ’17 took 35th and 63rd in the 400- and 200- meter dash respectively. Ashley Klein ’16 and Selena Livas ’17 competed in the javelin. With a distance of 93 feet, 8 inches, Klein placed 13th while Livas placed 20th.
The men’s track and field team also competed in Springfield this past Saturday and finished the day in 20th. The team did not fare as well as the women’s team, as only one team member managed to score. After reaching a height of 5 feet, 8 inches, Mark Franklin ’17 placed ninth in the high jump. Previous winner of the 2014 UAA triple jump Mohamed Sidique ’15 finished 11th in the long jump, reaching 21 feet. Also placing in this event were Adam Berger ’16 who finished 30th, along with Franklin who finished 41st.
Nick Wactor ’17 and Jeremy Wilson ’17 both competed in the 200- and 400-meter events. In the 200, the two placed at 21st and 39th places, respectively, while in the 400, Wactor finished in 32nd, and Wilson finished in 52nd. Competing in the men’s 1,500-meter run was Grady Ward ’16, Quinton Hoey ’17 and Matt Doran ’17. Ward finished in the best position at a time of 4:06.59, which earned him 16th place. Hoey and Doran earned 20th and 42nd, respectively. In the end, the University of Vermont, UMass Amherst, Tufts University, Central Connecticut State University and American International College rounded out the top five for the men’s at the tournament.
At this point for the men’s and women’s track and field teams, the Judges have earned themselves a few spots to the ECAC Championship. Brandeis returns to action this Saturday, April 12 in the Springtime Invitational at Brown University.
