The Brandeis track teams have had a busy couple of weeks, with runners traveling to Cleveland and Wisconsin to compete in the UAA and NCAA championships. Between the two meets, the Judges won many titles, including All-American status reached by Ryan Parker '06 at the national meet and UAA Rookie of the Year, awarded to Linda Kropp '07 for her elite performances throughout the season.
The Judges' first stop on their championship tour was Case Western Reserve University, where the men took home first place in two events. Abe Weinograd (GRAD) captured his first career UAA title in the 35-pound weight throw with a toss of 15.23 meters.
"This was the first time Abe had ever won anything, and it was the UAAs," Coach Mark Reytblat said.
The other winner on the men's side was Parker, one of the Judges' best runners who won his second career UAA title, giving him one for each year he has been on the team. This year it was his time of 1:56.61 in the 800-meters that earned him the title, whereas last year he was the champion of the 1500-meter as a first-year.
The men were also well represented in the 55-meter hurdles and distance medley, where captain Ben Oh '04 and the relay team both finished sixth in their respective events.
The sprinting events on the women's side of the meet featured runners who made for, according to Reytblat, "the deepest, most exciting meet I have ever been to. There were five teams chasing first place, and we did as much as we could, but just fell short," he said.
Attesting to just how deep the women's field was, Reytblat pointed out junior Katie Schill running her personal best in the hurdles, and still not making it past the preliminaries. The women finished fifth, just one point behind Emory, while Washington University took first place. However, the meet did not go without its share of excellent performances by the Judges, as they took first in two events. Jane Farrell '06 had a superb showing, winning the pole vault with a height of almost 10'5", and taking part in the distance medley relay team that won the meet. This was the third consecutive year the women have won the distance medley relay event, this year with a time of 12:37.25.
The other members of the team, in addition to Farrell, were Gretchen Chick '04, and Camille Stevens-Rumann '07 and Meghan Bisceglia '07. Farrell also finished third in the 200 and 400-meter dashes, while Chick and Bisceglia came in second in the 800-meter and 1500-meter events, respectively. Kropp showed why she was the recipient of the prestigious Rookie of the Year award by finishing second in the long jump and fourth in both the 200-meter run and triple jump.
The next weekend was the NCAA championship, the national championship held in Whitewater, Wisc. The only Brandeis representative was Parker, who qualified for the finals in the 800-meter event with a time of 1:54.74. Entering the meet, Parker was seeded 10th in the nation in this event. In order to qualify for nationals, a runner must be in the top 12 or 13 in the whole country. Once you qualify for the meet, in order to receive All-American honors, one must finish in the top eight in his event. Parker finished with a time of 1:54.49, good enough for third place and All-American honors, incredibly impressive, especially for a sophomore. Coach John Edwards, who trains both teams' distance runners, accompanied Parker to the meet, and raved about his performance.
"To be third in the country as a sophomore is just excellent. Ryan did great. He ran awesome in the qualifying heat, and was right in position to finish well in the finals," Edwards said. Parker, and the rest of the men and women's teams, now looks to have the same success in the outdoor track season.