The men and women's indoor track teams traveled to Brunswick, Maine, to compete in the Bowdoin Invitiational meet on Saturday. The women finished third out of a competitive field of five teams, while the men took fourth out of seven.
The women earned their ranking by taking home 1st place in four events, including the 4x400-meter relay for the second meet in a row. Jane Farrell '06 had a big day for the Judges, finishing first in both the pole vault and the 400-meter run, where she was the only runner to finish the race in under one minute.
Co-captain Gretchen Chick '04 was the other Brandeis winner on the women's side by capturing the 800-meter run, while her teammate Megan Bisceglia '07 took second.
The women earned some points in the 55-meter dash, where Jackie Schon '07 and Linda Kropp '07 took second and third, respectively, and co-captain Rachel Lebwohl '04 finished fourth.
Kropp also finished second in the long jump and 3rd in the 200-meter run, right behind teammate Katie Schilla '05.
Overall, the team placed third behind second-place finisher Bowdoin and Colby, which went home with the first place finish. Kropp was very impressed with the team's performance, citing the its camaraderie and closeness as a factor in their success.
"I was very happy with the meet. We're clicking as a team and getting along very well. I think we're going to do very well thanks to a lot of new people and upperclassmen that are exceptionally talented," she said animatedly, before adding how excited she is for next week's meet at Boston University, which will feature what very well may be the Judges' stiffest competition all season.
"It will be very competitive, but our best performances are yet to come. Competition brings out the best in us."
On the men's side, Ryan Parker '06 won the 800-meter race for Brandeis, becoming the only first place finisher on the day for the team. Dan Crespin '05 and Peter Vigneron '07 took second and third in the one-mile event, respectively, and captain Ben Oh '04 placed third in the 55-meter dash. The 4x400-meter relay team finished second, as did graduate student Abe Weinograd in the weight throw.
Bowdoin College's men's squad was the big winner of the day, followed by University of Southern Maine and Colby, which just edged Brandeis by two points to capture third place. Vigneron acknowledged there is room for improvement, but recognized that it is still early in the season.
"Many of the schools at Saturday's meet have high-quality track programs, and it was great competition considering it was such a small meet and so early in the season. I think we're coming together pretty nicely. Overall we had a good showing," he said.
Next week should be quite a test for the Judges, as the women's team and some of the men go to Boston to run in Boston University's Terrier Classic. Last year, the competition featured numerous Division I schools such as Boston College and Harvard, and next week promises the return of many of the same teams. The members of the men's team who do not run in the Terrier Classic will return to Maine to compete in a meet there.