The men's and women's indoor track teams continued their successful campaigns on Saturday, when they competed in the Greater Boston Track Meet at Harvard. Both teams enjoyed outstanding individual performances that included personal and school records by some of their best runners.
The women held their own against squads from schools big enough to enter three or four runners in each event. Despite being one of the smallest teams at the meet, the women still managed to earn points in 11 of the 15 events. Jane Farrell '05, who according to Coach Mark Reytblatt is a consistent and talented competitor, set the school record in the pole vault with a height of 10'6", six inches higher than the former record set by Melissa Purswell in 2002. Farrell also ran her personal best in the 200-meter dash.
Co-captain Gretchen Chick '04 and Megan Bisceglia '07, two of the team's best performers in middle distance events, finished third and fifth, respectively in the 800-meter dash. The Judges' distance medley relay team, of which Chick, Bisceglia and Farrell are members along with Camille Stevens-Rumann '07, turned in another impressive performance, earning the title of Women's Indoor Track and Field UAA Players of the Week. They became the first Division III team this season to post a qualifying time for next month's national meet.
Captain Rachel Lebwohl '04 believes that the key to success for the women is the encouragement the team members provide each other. "At every race, you can hear the team cheering you on in support. Our goal as a team is to support each other," she said.
For men, the day was highlighted by many of the team members running and throwing their personal bests. Graduate student Abe Weinograd threw a huge toss of 48'6" in the weight throw, the event in which he has been performing extremely well in for the Judges. This throw was his personal best, and also ensures his standing alone at the top of the UAA rankings. All three Brandeis runners in the 200-meter dash ran their personal bests. Dan Goldner '04 ran a time of 24.18, good enough to be the first Brandeis finisher, while his teammates Michael Kagan '05 and Jason Sanchez Cohen '05 finished right after each other in a hard-fought battle. Kagan's time of 24.70 just beat out Cohen's 25.08.
Ralph Chery '07 has improved with each meet, and with a time of 51.22 on Saturday, he qualified for the New England Division III championships in the 400-meter dash. He dueled with teammate Jackson Weber '05, and the two finished second and third, respectively. Dan Crespin performed well in the 5000 meters turning in a time of 15.30. Co-captain Ben Oh '04 turned in an impressive performance in the 60-meter dash.
The teams are concentrating onperforming well individually, working toward qualifying for the Division III championship meets as opposed to scoring the most points, according to Reytblatt. "The rankings don't mean anything until you go to the championships," he said. "Our goal isn't to score the highest number of points, but to qualify as many runners for Nationals and do well in the New England championships.