Entering the University Athletic Association Championships last weekend at Carnegie Mellon University, the women's outdoor track and field team knew it would need a balanced effort to finish well and compete with its conference foes. The Judges got one and finished higher than they did last season.Employing their usual combination of depth in distance events and skill in the jumping events, the Judges finished fourth out of seven teams with 101 points despite not having any of their members win an individual event. Washington University in St. Louis won the UAA title with 231.5 points.

The men's team finished seventh out of seven teams with 35 points. WashU won the title with 221 points.

The women's team earned 17 points from a trio of top-five finishes in the 1,500-meter race. Beth Pisarik '10 finished second behind rookie Erica Jackey of WashU. Pisarik lost to Jackey by a mere 0.09 seconds with a time of 4 minutes, 40.39 seconds.

"I have a really good training group, and our mile group is so strong," Pisarik said, "It's so great to have the support of your teammates, and it pushes me ever more than I would be able to do [without them]."

Grayce Selig '11 finished fourth, and Marie Lemay '11 finished fifth, earning five and four points, respectively.

Katy Agule '09 finished her outdoor career on a high note in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Agule finished second with a time of 11:25.79, earning the Judges eight points. Agule also finished third in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:55.97.

"I've never done this well at UAAs before," Agule said. "I'm really proud of the fact that I placed second in steeple and third in the [5,000-meter race]."

The Judges showed their depth in the 800-meter and 4-by-800-meter races as well, as six different runners combined for three top-five finishes. In the 4-by-800 relay, Jess Girard '10, Julia Alpaio '12, Molly Shanley '12 and Hannah Lindholm '11 finished third with a time of 9:43.14, earning six points. In the 800-meter race, Emily Owen '11 ran in 2:18.83, finishing fourth, and Erin Bisceglia '12 ended up fifth with a time of 2:21.54.

In the field events, Lucia Capano '11 and Ali Sax '09 combined for strong finishes in both the triple and long jump events.

Sax finished third in both events, with leaps of 11.46 and 5.49 meters, earning six points in each event. Capano followed her teammate with fifth-place finishes in the same events, jumping 10.84 meters in the triple jump and 5.21 meters in the long jump.

"I think [Capano] is doing spectacular," Sax said. "I've been glad to have her with us; she is a huge addition to the team."

Sax also finished third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.18 seconds, earning six points for the Judges.

In the high jump, Suzanne Bernier '10 and Lily Parenteau '12 finished in a tie for third place, earning 5.5 points apiece for the Judges.

On the men's side, the 800- and 1,500-meter races featured high finishes, but the Judges were never able to counteract their lack of depth in the field and sprinting events.

The men's 4-by-800 meter relay finished second behind the University of Chicago with a time of 7:47.91. The quartet of Marc Boutin '12, Matt Jennings '09, Mike Stone '09 and Chris Brown '12 earned eight points for the Judges.

"It was a great performance by the entire team," Jennings said. "We were in it the whole time, we were unable to come up with a victory, but [the UChicago team] ran great."

In the 1,500-meter race, three members of the 4-by-800-meter relay earned points for the Judges. Jennings finished fourth, Stone took seventh and Boutin ended up eighth.

Paul Norton '11 continued to be a strong finisher in long-distance events, finishing third in the 5,000-meter run. Norton ran in 15:36.72 to earn six points for the Judges.

"When conditions are bad, things get funky," Norton said. "It was a tough race, but I came out of it with a pretty decent performance, so I'm happy."

Mark Edwards '09 rounded out the scoring for the men's team, finishing third in the javelin throw with a toss of 52.04 meters.

The men's and women's teams will travel to Springfield, Mass. next weekend to compete in the New England Division III championships.