Despite an abrupt transition from the indoor to the outdoor season, the men's and women's track teams continue to turn in strong performances. Both teams traveled to Fitchburg State University this past Saturday for the Eric Loeschner Invitational, and after competing against 16 other regional teams, the men earned 46 points and a 4th place finish, while the women placed in 5th, notching 49 points overall.

Sprinter Vincent Asante '14 finished in the top three runners of the 200-meter dash, completing the race in 22.79 seconds, only seven-hundredths of a second-place spot, behind the first-place competitor.

With a notable performance last weekend, Asante moved up to seventh in the University Athletic Association in the 200-meter dash. Alex Kramer '13 finished the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:00.96, earning first.

In the long jump, Kensai Hughes '14 leaped 6.11 meters, placing third overall in the competition. Viet Tran '15 landed at 12.42 meters in the triple jump, earning fourth place in the event.

Jonathan Gilman '15 finished in seventh in the javelin throw competition, a brand-new event for the oudoor season.

High jumper Jeffrey Maser '15 is encouraged by the addition of the javelin event to the outdoor track season.

"Gilman and [Jacob Wilhoite '15] are both first-years but are proving to be really strong competitors this season," he said.

The women's track team also finished well at the meet last Saturday. Kristi Pisarik '12 started the competition off on a high note, earning second place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:29.41.

A group of Brandeis runners made a statement in the 1500-meter race, with Amelia Lundkvist '14 leading the pack with a first-place finish at 4:50.88. Victoria Sanford '14 soon followed her lead, finishing behind the second place competitor by just eight-hundredths of a second at 4:56.29.

Erin Bisceglia '13 finished right behind Sanford in fourth with a time of 4:57.95, while Ali Kirsch '14 rounded out the field in sixth for Brandeis at a time of 5:04.92.

In the high jump, Lily Parenteau '12 finished in third place with a leap of 1.58 meters, beating her personal record and moving to sixth overall in the UAA.

Kim Farrington '13 moved to fourth in the UAA with a leap of 10.86 meters in the triple jump. Brittany Bell '14 notched a jump of 5.11 meters in the long jump, earning a ninth-place finish in the UAA.

While most of the team was in Fitchburg this weekend, Chris Brown '12 and Kate Warwick '12 competed in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton University.

Ranked third in Division III this season, distance runner Brown finished first in the 1500-meter race, with a time of 3:47.19, and 19th overall in the competition. Warwick finished sixth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:29.17.

Maser noted that this was a great development for the team, and is confident that with practice, both squads can excel.

"We are just as prepared as any other team," he said. "There aren't nearly as many meets as indoor [season], and the conference championship is approaching pretty quickly."

The men's and women's track teams next compete at the UAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship this Friday at Carnegie Mellon University.

                                                                   -Editor's Note: Viet Tran '15 is a Justice Arts Staff Writer.

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