Finishing just shy of taking first place in three different events, Ali Sax '09 epitomized the women's indoor track team's afternoon at last Saturday's annual Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational. Much like Sax, the women's team just missed winning its only home event of the season, finishing just three points behind first-place finisher Bowdoin College, which totaled 157 points.

"I was so pleased with everyone's performances today," Sax said. "I don't think there was any outstanding difference between [Bowdoin] and us. I don't think anyone was disappointed."

The men's team placed sixth of 10 teams while tallying 78 points. Worcester Polytechnic Institute won the men's meet with 158.5 points.

Sax was caught up in a pair of very tight finishes. In the 55-meter hurdle event, Sax won the preliminary round in 8.92 seconds but came in second to rookie Bethany Dumas from the University of Southern Maine in the finals by just six-hundredths of a second.

In the long jump event, Sax was second to Bowdoin rookie Laura Peterson, even though Sax matched Peterson's best jump of 5.16 meters. Normally, the winner is determined by the best jump, but in the event of a tie, the contestant that leaps the farthest in their other attempts is declared the winner. Peterson's other two attempts were greater than Sax's, allowing Peterson to edge Sax for the win. Lucia Capano '11 was third in the event, jumping at 4.95 meters, while Anat Ben Nun '09 was fifth at 4.90 meters.

Ben Nun would win the triple jump, leaping 11.58 meters to once again pass the NCAA qualifying benchmark. Ben Nun had accomplished the feat Jan. 17 at the Bowdoin Invitational. Capano was fourth in the event at 10.64 meters.

"[Ben Nun] is phenomenal in the triple jump," Sax said. "If I'm going to lose to anybody in that event it might as well be her. She's great."

The Judges had strong outings in other sprinting and jumping events as well. Michelle Gellman '11 won the 400-meter dash in 1 minute, 1 second, beating out Bowdoin senior Alison Pilon by 1.33 seconds. In the high jump, Suzanne Bernier '10 and Lily Parenteau '12 took first and second place with leaps of 1.60 meters and 1.55 meters respectively.

"We were fantastic [in the sprints and jumps]," coach Mark Reytblat said. "We just did really really well."

In distance events, Brandeis dominated the one-mile run, capturing the top three places in the event. Beth Pisarik '10 had the fastest time at 5:11.36, while Grayce Selig '11 and Hannah Lindholm '11 nearly crossed the line together, finishing the race 0.79 seconds apart to take second and third place, respectively.

Pisarik, Lindholm, Marie Lemay '11 and Julia Alpaio '10 were members of the Judges' winning 800-meter relay team, which finished ahead of second-place Bowdoin by 7.05 seconds.

"This is an important finish for [the team]," Sax said. "It's our home meet and we're going to see these teams again in the postseason so performing well here is important. [It shows] we're going to be able to compete with anyone."

Like the women, the men's team fared well in distance events. In the 1,000-meter run, Marc Boutin '12 was second to rookie Tim Even of Southern Maine, finishing in 2:36.31 to Even's 2:35.02. Mike Stone '09 also did well in the event, placing sixth in 2:38.38.

Much like the women's team, the men's squad also crowded the top seeds in the one-mile run. Sam Donovan '11 took first place in 4:22.49, while teammate Matt Jennings '09 was right behind him in second place in 4:22.56. Chris Brown '12 was fifth in the event in 4:24.86.

Brown and Donovan would later join Boutin and Stone to win the 800-meter relay in 8:07.78, beating Bowdoin just as the women's team did.

"I think everyone is progressing well as far as being in shape and understanding how to race. It was a good race for us," Stone said. "It's nice to pick up victories and top finishes at our home meet, but it's still early in the season so we're all looking to improve still."

The Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational is named after former Brandeis runner Reggie Poyau '04, who tragically drowned off the coast of Senegal while studying abroad in his junior year.

Both the men's and women's teams are set to return to action this Saturday, Jan. 31 to compete at the Wheaton College Invitational at 9 a.m.