The Brandeis women's distance medley relay team earned all-American honors with a third-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Division III Championships.The event was one of two that the women's track and field team competed in this weekend at DePauw University in Indiana. Suzanne Bernier '10 also tied for 13th place in the high jump.

The highlight of the tournament for the Judges was the podium-worthy performance by the relay team.

The group, consisting of captain Beth Pisarik '10, Anifreed Sinjour '13, Emily Owen '11 and Grayce Selig '11, finished the 4000-meter race in just 11 minutes, 52.94 seconds.

The finish was less than two-and-a-half seconds off first place finishers University of St. Thomas and bested the fourth-place team by nearly four seconds.

Pisarik led off the relay, running the 1200 meter leg in about 3:41 and putting the Judges in a good position to open the meet.

Pisarik's quick start wasn't her only contribution to the team's strong relay performance.

According to coach John Evans, the senior's leadership also played a major role in the team's impressive finish.

"She's been the leader of our team these past few years. We have one of the strongest middle distance groups in the country, and Pisarik deserves a lot of the credit for that."

Owen echoed her coach, saying that "[Pisarik's] a really great captain. It was great having her here, and I think that that really helped all of us perform to the best of our abilities."

Running the middle two legs for the team were Sinjour and Owen.

Sinjour ran the 400-meter leg for the team, finishing in just over a minute. "It was a really impressive leg, especially for a freshman," Evans said.

Meanwhile, Owen's time in the 800-meter portion of the race just eclipsed her personal best time of 2:15.92 that was set in the preliminary race at UAAs the previous week. "[Owen] ran a really solid leg. She really helped keep us in the hunt," Evans said.

The relay team was anchored by Selig, who also had a phenomenal race.

Though individual splits in the race are not officially recorded, her mile time was several seconds faster than the Brandeis record time of 4:56.12 that she set at the UAA Championships just a week ago.

"[Selig] ran a phenomenal race," Sinjour said. "She had a look of determination, and it was just very comfortable having her anchor for us."

The final Brandeis competitor at the meet was Bernier. She cleared a height of 1.61 meters in her final jump, good enough to place her in a tie for 13th.

It was a fitting end to a fantastic season for the senior, who earlier this year set the Brandeis record in the high jump with a height of 1.67 meters.

"Qualifying was a huge step for [Bernier], and she did a phenomenal job as she has all season long," Evans said. "It was a great way for her to end her indoor season," added Sinjour.

Heading into the meet, the relay team had been seeded eighth in the country.

Still, Evans was confident heading in that the team would do well, and was extremely enthusiastic about the results.

"I thought that we could be right up there, and the race just went really well. Really well."

With only two of the five competitors at the Division III Championships graduating this year, the future for the distance medley relay (and the track and field team as a whole) looks very bright, and both Sinjour and Owen were excited about the prospects for the relay team next year.

"The relay team has a very bright future. [Pisarik] has been fantastic, and it will be difficult to replace her; but if we can find someone with a time close to hers, then we should be pretty great next year as well," Sinjour said.

"The fact that it was three underclassmen just shows how much potential we have and how deep our team is," added Owen.

Evans was excited for the prospects for the rest of the team going forward as well.

"This was a really huge step for us," he said. "Next year, we can hopefully bring several competitive individuals in addition to the relay team."

All five of the competitors will take a few days off and then begin to train for the outdoor season, which begins in a few weeks.