With the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships coming up, several Brandeis runners competed in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Last Chance Qualifier in hopes of qualifying. Though no new Brandeis runners qualified, the meet yielded several top finishes and a new Brandeis record in the women's 1,500-meter race.For the third time this season, Grayce Selig '11 broke the school record in the 1,500-meter race. She finished in 4 minutes, 30.81 seconds, shaving more than 2 seconds off of her previous best time of 4:32.96.

Her record now stands nearly 5 seconds ahead of the previous school record, Mariko Tansey-Holbrook's '03 time of 4:35.56.

"We just wanted her to improve her time and the automatic qualifying time [for nationals], and she was able to do that," said Coach John Evans.

Teammate Lucia Capano '11 echoed her coach's thoughts, saying that Selig "looked really good out there."

Beth Pisarik '10 and Erin Bisceglia '12 also competed in the race. Pisarik finished fourth in the meet with a time of 4:40.68, while Bisceglia grabbed sixth with a time of 4:56.84.

Aaron Udel '10 set a personal best in his final race at Brandeis. Udel finished the 800-meter run in 1:53.97, the first time that he had broken the 1:55.00 mark in his career.

"We had been waiting for him to break [the 1:55 mark] for a while, but he hadn't had the luck to do it. There was great weather, and he was very strong all the way through the finish," Capano said. "[Udel] has been so consistent all year, and he finally got the time that he is capable of."

Brandeis' only first-place finish came from the men's team, where Devon Holgate '11 won the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:00.59. Holgate bested Yale sophomore Julian Sheinbaum by 0.04 seconds, while Marc Boutin '12 grabbed third place with a time of 4:01.63.

Capano thought both Holgate and Boutin ran a competitive race at the meet.

"It was a really exciting race," said Capano. "[Holgate] and [Boutin] were right on their tails the entire way, and in the last 100 or 200 meters, [Holgate] pulled up and they were fighting for the lead the rest of the way."

The win for Holgate followed a disappointing finish the week before. Hoping to qualify for nationals, the junior was tripped midway through the race.

"He was on pace to qualify, and it looked like he was going to, but then he was tripped," Evans said, adding that Holgate still "had a great race [and] a great season, and he will come back stronger next year."

Capano was the final Brandeis competitor at the meet, finishing fourth in both the long jump and the triple jump with distances of 5.16 meters and 11.14 meters, respectively. Unfortunately, a bruised heel prevented her from even matching her personal bests, killing any chance of earning a trip to Marietta, Ohio for nationals next weekend.

"She had a great season, and she jumped great at [the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships] the week before. She couldn't jump as far this week, but she already qualified provisionally [for nationals], and she will have a great next season," Evans said.

With nobody earning qualifying times in the last meet, the duo of Selig and Suzanne Bernier '10 will travel to Ohio to represent the Judges at Baldwin-Wallace College in the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held from Thursday to Saturday. Selig will run the 1,500-meter race, while Bernier will compete in the high jump, an event that she holds the Brandeis record in. Selig and Bernier both won their respective events at the University Athletic Association Championships earlier this spring.

Evans recognizes that both girls had tremendous years and are ready to represent the school.

"Both had great seasons, and both were UAA champions," Evans said. "For Grayce, it will be her third nationals of the year, and it will be a great experience for her to get to go. For [Bernier], she'll be representing our great senior class, and it is great for her to go out like this." -