The Brandeis men’s and women’s track teams are right in the midst of a series of championship tournaments which will last until late May. So far, they have been very successful at both the University Athletic Association and New England Division III meets. 


UAA Championships

Both teams found great success at the UAA outdoor championships. For the men’s team, their fifth-place finish was the team’s highest since 1999. The women’s sixth-place finish was their highest since 2011. 

Graduate student Irie Gourde ’17 was once again a standout, completing the double crown that he missed so narrowly in the winter. Gourde won both the 200m and the 400m, moving into sole possession of the school record for the 400m, in the process. These were Gourde’s second and third conference wins after finishing as the runner up in the previous five events he ran. 

Two other Brandeis runners finished in scoring position behind Gourde. Regan Charie ’19 finished fifth, while Churchill Perry ’19 came in at eighth. Emily Bryson ’19 also left the meet as a UAA champion, defending her 1500m title with ease and racking up an incredible seventh UAA title in her decorated collegiate career. Meaghan Barry ’19 and Julia Bryson ’19 also finished in scoring positions, making the 1500m a 17-point event for the Judges. As a triple jumper, Perry provided the final win for the Judges in his best event. He came into the meet as the clear favorite and defended his winter title; each of his attempts would have won him the event. 


New England Division III  Championships

Many runners and other athletes concluded, Gourde continued his dominant year by winning and setting new personal and new school records in the 200m dash. He also contributed to the 4x100 relay team, which set a new school record of 42.58 seconds. Gourde, along with Charie, Perry and Lorenzo Maddox ’20, placed sixth overall at the event. Danielle Bertaux ’20 nearly set a personal best in the 5000m and her run was good, earning third overall at the meet. Niamh Kenny ’21 also finished ninth in the same race. 

The women’s 4x400 relay team also performed very well at the event. The team of Leinni Valdez ’21, Maya Sands-Bliss ’20, Doyin Ogundiran ’19 and Lisbeth Valdez ’21 recorded a time of 4:01.52 to place seventh. Scote Grote ’19 reset a personal best from the UAA championships in the discus to finish third. His 48.08m toss puts him at 26th nationally. 

A few other Judges also capped off their seasons at this event. Captain Ryan Stender ’18 placed 12th in the 5000m with a season best 15:15.25. Jack Allan ’20 also had his season best in two events: hurdles and long jump. He ran 15.52 for the 110m hurdles to place 14th and jumped 6.47m for 13th. In the pole vault, Breylen Ammen ’21 jumped 4.40m (14’5.25”) for 11th while Aaron Corin ’20 cleared 4.10m (13’5.25”) for 17th. Jordin Carter ’18 capped off a dominant shotput season by finishing 21st with a throw of 10.66m. Lydia Harris ’20 finished 13th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 68.44 seconds, while Kanya Brown ’19 finished 26th in the 100m running 13.08 seconds.

The New England Inter-Collegiate Amataure Athletics Association tournament took place this past weekend but ended too late to be covered in this issue. The Judges still have a few more events left in the outdoor season. On Thursday, some will travel to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to participate in the outdoor season’s last chance meet. Following that will be the NCAA national Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Lacrosse, Wisconsin from May 24-26.