The Judges’ 2019 outdoor track and field season is in full swing. 

It has been an exciting few weeks for both the women’s and men’s track and field teams. Almost a third of the way through their season, the Judges show no chance of slowing down any time soon. Though the teams have only participated in a few meets, they have already begun to make strides in times. 

Beginning at the Tufts University Snowflake Classic, the seniors started out their closing season strong. Regan Charie ’19 claimed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.16 seconds, dropping .08 seconds from his preliminary time. On the field, Scott Grote ’19 threw a distance of 44.14 meters in the discus throw, bringing him into a second-place finish. He then came in sixth place with a distance of 42.99 meters in the hammer throw. Also on the field, Aaron Corin ’20 took third place in the pole vault with a height of 4.10 meters. 

For the women, senior Doyin Ogundiran ’19 started her season off well by claiming the only win for the Judges at the Snowflake Classic. With a time of 2:15.94 seconds, she took first in the 800-meter dash. Lisbeth Valdez ’21 also competed in this event. She claimed ninth place with a time of 2:21.64 seconds, only missing eighth place by .12 seconds. 

Meanwhile, the Judges sent seniors Emily Bryson and Julia Bryson to North Carolina to compete in the Raleigh Relays, both participating in the 1500-meter run. Julia Bryson ran a 4:45.49 seconds, claiming the 35th fastest Division III time. Indoor National Champion in the mile run, Emily Bryson, took first place in the event. With a personal record time, this was also the fastest time in Division III by 1.34 seconds. 

Next, the Judges continued the season with the Amherst Invitational. Compared to the previous meet, the teams had a harder time, as the women only came in fifth out of six teams. The men, however, did slightly better with their overall score, coming in third out of six. 

Again Charie started this meet off strong, coming in third place in the 200-meter dash. Lorenzo Maddox ’20 also came in third in the 100-meter dash, missing second by .03 seconds. In the 110-meter hurdles, Jack Allen ’20 took second with a time of 12.04 seconds, but also added to his seeded time. In the field events, Corin also came in second place after vaulting a height of 4.25 meters. Grote took fourth in shot put with a distance of 12.55 meters.

For the women, Julia Bryson scored five points in the 800-meter dash. She came in second place with a time of 2:20.36 seconds, only .15 seconds slower than first. The Judges also took all the spots from fifth to ninth place. Later on, rookie Erin Magill claimed third in the 5000-meter run after dropping just under .8 secoonds from her seeded time, finishing in 18:42.88 seconds. Sonali Anderson '22 also began her outdoor career by coming in second place with a time of 15.74 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.

The Judges are currently at the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College, as we eagerly await the results. They will return next weekend on April 20 to compete in the Sean Collier Invitational at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Only one week later, the Judges will travel over a thousand miles to compete in the University Athletic Association Championship at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.