The Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams had mixed results last weekend competing at Boston University. The St. Valentine’s Day Classic is one of the most competitive meets on the Judges’ schedule, and gave Brandeis the opportunity to run again on a banked track. Numerous judges scored season and personal bests, as the teams posted good performances all around the arena. Still, the Men’s and Women’s squads were forced to withdraw in the middle of the Distance Medley Relay, and showed other signs of a mid-season misstep as well.
The Men’s team showed some progress at the meet. Co-Captain Patrick Gregoire ‘09 scored a personal best in the 200 meter dash, as he finished the race with a time of just over 23.5 seconds. Teammate Ned Crowley ’10 also finished his event strong, as he ran the 400 meter dash in under 52 seconds, a season record. Aaron Udel ’10 scored an indoor personal record in the 800 meter dash with a time of just above two minutes.
These successes were remarkable, but the Judges truly shined in the one mile run. Mike Stone ’09, Ben Bray ’11, and David Azer ’11 all scored personal bests in this event, and added to the squad’s performances in the distance arena. The Judges did not commit a large squad in the field, but Frank Longo ’08 and Shyam Vimal ’09 both jumped farther than 40 feet in the triple. The Judges also had some less than desirable times, though, and withdrew their Distance Medley Relay team.
On the Women’s side, the Judges reinforced some of their season’s successes. They scored some solid times in the sprints, as Olivia Alford ’08 finished close to 58 seconds in the 400 meter event. Marie Lemay ’11 posted a fantastic showing in the mile run, finishing the event in just under 5 minutes and 13 seconds. Improving her time after a semester abroad, Meaghan Casey ’09 completed the 800 meters with a time of 2 minutes and 19 seconds. The Women too did not complete the Distance Medley Relay event.
Members of the Men’s team had some mixed comments about their recent performance. “The meet had its ups and downs,” stated Paul Norton ‘11 who ran the 5K race. He went on to say that the team standing was pretty good, as the Judges performed well as a squad. “Overall, it was a really solid team performance,” he said.
Members of the Women’s team had similar comments, as they especially extolled the personal records of their teammates. “I think the girls looked pretty strong in their races at the Valentine Invite this past Friday, and I think it bodes well for the upcoming championship season,” commented Co-Captain Katy Agule ’09.
She went on to talk about upcoming competitions. “We have a meet at MIT this weekend,” she said, “but it is our last non-championship meet. Some will not race and rest their legs, while others who have been racing well will most likely race again to get one more good race under their legs.” Agule finished by saying “I think everyone is looking really strong going into this weekend and it will be an exciting championship season.”
The Judges compete at MIT this weekend in their last meet before the championship season. They then have Division III New Englands before going to Cleveland for the UAA Championships in early March.
