Competing in his first-ever 1,000-meter run at the Tufts University Indoor Invitational Saturday, John Guilinger's '08 eyes lit up as the sole runner in front of him, from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, pulled out after the 600-meter mark, allowing Guilinger to take the lead and win the race."At that point my coach had me go for it," said Guilinger, who finished the race in 2 minutes, 32.42 seconds.

In a meet where several Judges experimented with new events, Guilinger's win allowed the men to salvage an 11th-place finish out of 14 teams. The women finished with 32 points to come in eighth out of 14 teams and were the only team in the triple jump event with more than one competitor who placed in the top six.

Just like Guilinger, Ralph Chery '07 thrived in an event he wasn't accustomed to, finishing fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.67 seconds in place of the injured Machel Charles '08. Charles was forced to pull out of the race due to a knee injury.

Chery, along with Geoff Fauchet '08, Feodor Melnikov '09 and new member Ned Crowley '10, helped the Judges place fourth out of 15 teams with a time of 3:30.43 in the 4 x 400-meter relay.

In the 800-meter run, Matt Jennings '09 came in eighth out of 37 runners with a time of 1:58.92. Dan Suher '08 finished right behind him.

Mike Stone '09 and rookie Brian McDonald '10 led the Judges in the one-mile run, posting personal bests with times of 4:33.13 and 4:31.41 to come in 13th and 14th place, respectively.

"We both felt very well-prepared," Stone said.

"I didn't race as well as I could have, but our good training has really paid off."

In jumping, Frank Longo '08 turned in a 12.55-meter leap in the triple jump to finish eighth place out of 21 competitors. Longo also had a 1.81-meter effort in the long jump for ninth place out of 27.

The women picked up 28 of their 32 points in jumping events.

Anat Benun '09, competing for the first time in the triple jump since last year, captured second place with a leap of 11.04 meters.

Benun finished second in the triple jump at Nationals last year before pulling her hamstring earlier this season. Benun competed in the less physically taxing high jump a few times this year before returning to the triple jump event.

"It felt good to be back home." Benun said.

"As long as [Benun] is healthy, she'll improve a lot," coach Mark Reytblat said.

Ali Sax '09 finished right behind Benun in third place with a 10.72-meter jump and Linda Kropp '07 placed sixth.

Rookie Suzanne Bernier '10 also finished third out of 25 in the high jump.

"[Suzanne] has definitely been an asset to our team." Kropp said.

In the long jump, Kropp registered a personal-best 5.03-meter jump for fourth place out of 32.

In the running events for the women, Meaghan Casey '09 placed ninth of 38 competitors in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.09.

The Judges' compete next Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. in Boston University's Valentine Classic.