The men’s and women’s track teams had solid showings at the University Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by the University of Chicago this past weekend. Both teams were able to secure a bundle of top-five finishes on the day, with multiple top-three finishes mixed in. 

Irie Gourde ’17 started it off for the Judges in the second session of Saturday’s meet, posting the first gold for the squad. Gourde marked a time of 49.39 in the 400-meter dash preliminaries to outpace two Case Western Reserve University runners. Regan Charie ’19 quickly followed up Gourde’s performance, securing a second-place finish in the men’s 100-meter dash preliminaries and clocking in at a speedy time of 10.92. 

Gourde stole back the spotlight a few events later, matching Charie’s silver in the 200-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 21.68. Charie followed in sixth place, crossing the finish line less than half a second later. 

Gourde fell to second place in the 400-meter dash finals, pacing a time of 47.82. Charie also fell to third in the 100-meter dash finals, posting a time of 11.14 and gaining six points for the squad. Gourde nabbed second place in the 200-meter dash, stealing eight points for the Judges after crossing the line in 21.81 seconds. Ryan Stender ’18 managed a top-10 spot in the 5000-meter run, running to a time of 15:12.62. 

Mark Franklin ’17 nabbed a fifth-place spot in the high jump with a height of 1.87 meters, while Churchill Perry ’20 secured a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 13.27. Scott Grote ’19 also finished in the top-five discus throwers with a throw of 42.80 meters.

Roger LaCroix ’18 managed to land in 15th place with a time of 4:05.28 in the 1500-meter run, eight places above Brad Payne ’18, who finished in 23rd. 

The squad had a tough time in the relay events, falling to fourth in the 4x100 relay race and sixth in the 4x400 relay event. The 4x100 squad was led by Lorenzo Maddox ’20, while the 4x400 team was led by Jeremy Wilson ’17. 

The Judges finished off the first day with six points to put them in seventh place. The squad finished with 55 overall points to land them in seventh place for the event.  While the team did not have its strongest combined performance, Charie and Gourde once again showed that they are true leaders out on the track.  While Gourde is a senior, Charie is only a sophomore.  Therefore, the squad will be able to expect excellent results out of the talented runner for years to come.

The women had an equally solid day, showcasing their speed and agility in the championship meet. Jordin Carter ’18 scored a sixth-place finish in the shot put, with a distance of 10.54 meters. Doyin Ogundiran ’19 ran to fourth place in the 800-meter run preliminaries, only to fall to fifth place in the finals with a time of 2:15.15. Julia Bryson ’19 edged her way into the top 10 for 3000-meter steeplechase, marking a time of 11:40.74. Maddie Dollins ’17 finished the 5000-meter run in fourth, breaking the ribbon at 17:55.44. The Judges struggled in the team relay events, falling to last place in the 4x400 relay race and fifth in the 4x100 relay event. The Judges were led by Kanya Brown ’19 in the 4x100 race and Maya Bliss ’19 in the 4x400 relay. 

The women finished day one with 10.5 points and a sixth-place showing. The Judges finished with 38.5 points, lowering them to seventh place in the meet.  Both teams noticeably struggled in their team relay events.  Both the men and the women alike will have to work on improving in these races to find greater overall success in future meets.

The Judges will look forward to the Brown Springtime Invitational this coming Sunday on the road at Brown University. It will be their final meet of the season before they test their abilities and show off what they have been working toward at the Division III New England Championship meet at Williams College.