The Brandeis men’s and women’s track teams had an impressive weekend. Both competed at two meets over the course of the weekend, and both meets were marked by dominant individual performances in both groups. These meets continue what have already been impressive seasons for both the men and the women.

The women began their weekend on Friday, Feb. 9, at the Boston University David Hemery Valentines Classic. The most impressive performance of the meet came from junior Emily Bryson ’19. Already the national leader for the mile among division III women with a time of 4:52.36, she improved this impressive record to 4:36.63. This is the sixth-best time in Division III history. Looking ahead, this makes Bryson a very strong competitor for the NCAA championship for the mile on March 9 in Birmingham, Alamaba.

Jordin Carter ’18 began the season with a personal best weight throw of 15.00m. Carter has progressively improved over the course of this season, breaking and rebreaking new personal records. Her best throw of this meet was nine centimeters further than her previous record. Additionally, Kyra Shreeve ’18 and Doyin Ogundiran ’19 had impressive performances in the 800-meter run. Shreeve set a personal record, placing 3rd in her heat with a time of 2:21.68. Ogundiran finished 8th with a time of 2:24.42. 

In the women’s 60-meter dash, Kanya Brown ’19 ran a time that turned out to be her second-best of the season, 8.25 seconds, good enough to win her section. Jordan Brill-Cass ’21 won her section with a time of 8.64 seconds. Additionally, Meaghan Barry ’19 made an impressive collegiate debut in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:05.70, a performance that would qualify her for the Division III New England Championships.

On Feb. 10, the Judges competed at the Gordon Kelly Invitational hosted by MIT.  In Another impressive meet, Madeline Hayman ’20 set a personal best, winning the 800 meter with a time of 2:23.92, an improvement from her previous time of 2:26.72. Additionally, following Friday’s record-setting performance, Jordin Carter ‘18 proved her dominance yet again with a 20-pound weight throw of 15.81m. In fact, this record put Carter at 25th on the national list. This is the fourth time Carter has set a school record.

The men’s team also had an incredible weekend at both meets. The highlight of the meets for the men came from graduate student Irie Gourde ’17 at BU. Gourde set a personal best for the 400m with a time of 47.81. This placed him 2nd in his heat and an impressive 1st among Division III athletes. Even more impressive is the fact that Gourde placed 12th in a field that included professionals and Division I, II and III athletes. 

Later, Gourde competed again to run in the 200m with Regan Charie ’19. Both runners set season-best times, Gourde running a time of 21.84 and Charie running a time of 22.66. Additionally, Jacob Judd ’20 and Erez Needleman ’20 ran personal best times in the 800 meter. Judd completed the 800 meter in 1:58.66 and Needleman completed the run with a time of 2:00.75.  Last, Josh Lombardo ‘21 ran a notable personal best in the 1000 meter with a time of 2:35.40.

Over at MIT, Jack Allan ’20 set a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles. Incredibly, Allan won the event with a time of 8.66 seconds. Additionally, Scott Grote ’19 threw a personal best in the weight throw. He threw a 35-pound weight 14.72m.

The indoor season is winding down. Over the next few weeks, the tone of the meets will change. It’s championship season, and the runners have been ready since the first meet. Each race will hold new importance as athletes try to cement their name in Brandeis track history. With the record-breaking ways of the past weeks, the team definitely has the momentum to make Brandeis known around the region, conference, and country. Both the men’s and women’s teams look ahead to the New England Division III Championships at Middlebury College next weekend on Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17.