The men and women’s indoor track team took on the 2018 UAA Championships this past weekend in Cleveland, OH. The men’s team finished sixth overall with 55 points, their highest point total since 2006. The women’s team placed fourth in the competition with 41 points, their highest finish since 2010.
Day two of the competition marked the finals. Churchill Perry ’20 started off the day with an outstanding performance in the triple jump, recording his personal best and taking his first UAA victory with a distance of 14.24m. Perry’s performance earned him the ranking of 29th in the country.
Graduate student Irie Gourde ’17, HS ’18 took home his his first top finish after five career second place finishes at the UAAs. Gourde’s finish came in the men’s 200m race with a time of 22.54, which was slower than his prelim time of 22.09 that places him in the top 10 nationally. Gourde also finished second in the 400m with a time of 49.03 and third as part of the 4×400 relay, which also included Perry, Patrick Quinlan ’21, and Henry McDonald ’19.
Regan Charie ’19 recorded a personal best in the prelims of the 60m even on the first day of UAAs, and finished in second place in the 60m final on day two with a time of 7.11. Charie also placed fourth in the 200m final with a time of 22.89. Ryan Stender ’18 placed third in the 3000m race with a time of 8:38.61, earning his second career All-UAA honor in the 3000m event.
Emily Bryson ’19 also stood out for the Judges. Bryson won the distance medley relay on the first day of UAAs and the 3000m by almost ten seconds with a time of 9:54.68 on day two of the UAA competition. This win makes Bryson one of the only UAA athletes to ever win six UAA titles in six different events, including cross country, the outdoor 5000m, the indoor mile, the 1500m outdoors, the distance medley relay and the 3000m. Bryson’s time in the 3000m ranks her 12th nationally, which means she could qualify for both the mile and the 3000m events in the NCAA championships later this month.
Doyin Ogundiran ’19 earned a second place finish in the 800m event, running a personal best of 2:14.05. She is now ranked in 4th place nationally. The 4×400 relay team, consisting of Ogundiran, Kayla Fahey ’20, Leinni Valdez ’21, and Lisbeth Valdez ’21, placed fifth with a time of 4:03.52. Julia Bryson ’19 was the final runner for the women’s team, finishing sixth in the mile with a time of 5:14.05.
In the field events, three Judges placed. For the women’s team, Jordin Carter ’18 finished fifth in shot put with a distance of 11.33m on day two, along with her second place finish the previous day in weight throw. Scott Grote ’19 and Breylen Ammen ’21 were the two scorers for the men’s team. On day one, Grote finished fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 13.09m for All-UAA honors. Ammen placed sixth in the pole vault with a height of 4.21m in his UAA debut.
The men and women’s indoor track and field team continue their season this coming weekend against Tufts in Medford.
