(01/29/13 5:00am)
"Vision is what one has, but visualizing is the active challenge to all of us and that is what we are about today," University President Frederick Lawrence said at the Brandeis Visions for Israel in an Evolving World conference on Sunday. Over 200 students from 17 schools across the Northeast attended the conference, which was held to help facilitate discussions about Israel on college campuses. bVIEW is a movement created by students who feel that current discussion about Israel can be polarized and unproductive. Lawrence pointed out that the V in bVIEW stands for visions. There are multiple visions for Israel, and all of them need to be talked about, he said. The conference, as bVIEW content and program director Natan Odenheimer '15 said in the introduction, would help students "think constructively about the future." Odenheimer said he had noticed that students have "difficulty discussing challenging issues regarding Israel." The bVIEW founders believe that in order for positive change to occur in Israel, the discourse on campus needs to be improved. The conference encouraged students, who bVIEW deem as the next generation that can influence the situation in Israel, to voice their opinions in a healthy, open environment. Following the introductory session, bVIEW Codirector Erica Shaps '13 moderated a panel on Israel programming on college campuses. The panelists included Lex Rofes, a senior at Brown University and a student representative on the Board of Directors of Hillel at Brown; Matt Lebovic, senior campus associate at Combined Jewish Philanthropies; Daniel May, director of J Street U; and Larry Sternberg, executive director of Hillel at Brandeis. The first question Shaps asked the panelists was about who plays a major role in dictating campus programming on Israel. Lebovic said that he believes students should make most of the decisions but outside organizations can still be important. Student organized programs can be heavily influenced by activists, Sternberg pointed out. May added that programs do not have to be adversarial in order to be productive. "The most successful student groups are the ones that understand that the university is a political universe," he said. He continued that it is important for students to lead the discussion, but it is impossible for it to be completely separate from the outside world. The panelists were then asked what they would like campus programming to look like in an ideal world. "I think that we learn a lot more when we associate very directly ... with people who differ from ourselves," said Rofe, adding that conferences such as bVIEW allow for the necessary "constructive discomfort." May also said that different ideologies should interact, to make the discussion "intellectually rigorous, diverse and politically engaged." Lebovic said that there can be a disconnect between what students are discussing in America and what is happening in Israel, and he would like to see students continue the discussion by going to Israel to see the situation for themselves. The final question posed to the panelists was whether or not there are boundaries to the discussion on Israel. May answered that there are no limits to who is included; all parts of the population in Israel need to be part of the conversation. There are, however, limits to what should be said in the discussion, he said. "There is such a thing as hateful speech." Sternberg brought up the example of a Knesset debate, where all of the members talk over each other. "The purpose of the convening is conversation. Conversations require listening," said Sternberg. He believes that the extremes should be included if everyone listens to each other. There is a difference between having boundaries on opinions and having them on actions, Lebovic said. "Universities should be able to self-select their members and strategies based on the actions of who wants to [join]." Only expression that leads to violence should be limited, said Lebovic. The questions asked by students, as well as the individual table discussions that followed the panel, reflected the goals of the event as a whole. Students wanted to know what their impact will be on the outside world and how to make that world what they want it to be. Thirty-eight bVIEW student facilitators led the discussions, including Hannah Kober '16. "I think that people should gain a greater understanding of what Israel discussion could look like on campus, as opposed to what is looks like right now, which is very polarized," Kober said.
(04/12/11 4:00am)
Grayce Selig '11 won the 1,500-meter run in 4 minutes, 33.48 seconds, holding off Providence University junior Charlotte French O'Carro by 0.39 seconds to claim gold at the George Davis Invitational last Saturday. Marie Lemay '11 finished in seventh place in the 1,500 with a time of 4:48.60. In the 400-meter dash, Annifreed Sinjour '13 placed sixth in 1:00.55, and Casey McGown ran a 1:01.28, good for 10th place.Hannah Lindholm '11 came in 15th in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:47.90.In the 4x100-meter women's relay, the quartet of Kim Farrington '13, Lucia Capano '11, Michelle Gellman '11 and Sinjour placed fourth with an aggregate time of 50.57 seconds. Harvard University won the relay, followed by Boston University and Wheaton College. In the 100-meter dash, Kayley Wolf '12 came in 26th with a time of 14.30 seconds. Gellman ran a 28.43 in the 200-meter dash to finish in 31st. Wolf also ran the 100-meter hurdles, placing 22nd with a time of 17.79 seconds.In the field, Capano had two strong performances, finishing fourth in the long jump with a distance of 5.20 meters and placing sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 11.13 meters. Lily Parenteau '12 jumped 1.55 meters in the high jump, which was good for third place.On the men's side, Chris Brown '12 finished second in the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:57.26. He finished 2.82 seconds behind University of Massachusetts Lowell junior Angus MacDonald. Devon Holgate '12 came in seventh in 4:01.11, and Taylor Dundas '14 was 11th in 4:03.70. Ben Bray '11 was 43rd in 4:17.50.Brian Foley '13 ran the 400-meters in 51.41, good for 13th place. Mingkai Lin '12 finished 0.88 seconds and eight places later.Mik Kern '13 ran the 800-meter run in 1:58.11, good enough to earn him 10th place. Sam Donovan '11 ran a 2:06.50, earning 35th place.In the 2-mile run, Ed Colvin '14 finished 14th with a time of 9:29.92. Marc Boutin '12 placed two spots behind Colvin, finishing in 9:32.16.In the 100-meter dash, Alex Schmidt '14 finished in 33rd place. Schmidt, who is also a forward on the men's basketball team and is 6 feet, 7 inches tall, finished the sprint in 12.82 seconds.Jung Park '14 placed 15th in the 110-meter hurdles and 16th in the 400-meter hurdles.In the shot put, Kris Stinehart '14 threw the ball 10.98 meters, good for 19th place. The next track meet is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Spring Invitational this Saturday.
(02/08/11 5:00am)
The Brandeis men's and women's track teams had several top-three finishes at the Tufts Invitational last Saturday. The meet included runners from Division I, Division II and Division III, as well as professional runners.In the men's events, Vincent Asante '14 finished in second place in the 60-meter dash, running a brisk 7.05 seconds.The Judges' runners also excelled in the 1-mile run, with two Brandeis runners placing in the top three. Chris Brown '12 and Paul Norton '11 scored a total of 4 points for Brandeis, coming in second and third place, respectively. Brown finished in 4 minutes, 19.00 seconds, and Norton crossed the finish line just 1.60 seconds later, earning him the bronze. Dan Anastos '11 ran the mile in 4:26.85, finishing in 11th place. Brown was featured as the Athlete of the Week in the Jan. 25 issue of the Justice for his top finish in the 800-meter run at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard University. Brown did not compete in the 800-meter run this past weekend.In the 400-meter dash, Mingkai Lin '12 finished 14th with a time of 53.09. Josh Hoffman-Senn '13 finished 1.71 seconds and 12 spots later. Vincent Ferlisi '14 came in 29th place, finishing in 55.06 seconds.Mik Kern '13, who typically competes in the 800-meter and mile events, set a personal record for the 600-meter run, finishing in 1:24.90. His time was good for sixth place. Kern rarely runs the 600-meter and said that he was very happy with his time. "I ran better than expected," he said. "I haven't run the 600 in a long time, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do well. It gives me confidence for the future and I look forward to seeing what our team can do in the following meets this season.""We had a lot of people running events that they don't always run," added Casey McGown '13.Ben Bray '11 finished the 800-meter in 11th place with a time of 2:00.99. Sam Donovan '11 was 16th, finishing in 2:02.36Michal Dichter '13 placed 18th in the 1,000-meter run. He finished in 2:44.67. In the women's events, McGown set a personal record for the 400-meter dash. She came in third place and finished in 1:01.98.Annifreed Sinjour '13 followed only 0.51 seconds behind, which was good for sixth. Sinjour also placed ninth in the 200-meter dash, which she finished in 27.53 seconds. Marie Lemay '11 came in second place for the 1,000-meter run, finishing in 3:05.59. Victoria Sanford '14 ran the 1,000-meter in 3:09.08, which was good for sixth.Hannah Lindholm '11 ran the mile in 5:22.67, which put her in third place. McGown said that overall, the team was pleased with its results."A lot of people placed in their events," she said.Both squads will next compete at the Boston University Valentine's Classic, which takes place this weekend.
(02/01/11 5:00am)
The Brandeis men's and women's track teams had several individuals finish with personal bests at the Boston University Terrier Invitation last weekend. The meet featured runners from Division I, II and III schools, as well as many sponsored and unaffiliated runners.In the women's events, Grayce Selig '11 ran the mile in 4 minutes, 54.82 seconds, finishing only 2.62 seconds out of first place. Selig grabbed third in the event, the highest of any collegiate competitor in the event. It would be the closest the Judges would come to victory all afternoon. Selig was named the UAA women's indoor track and field athlete of the week for her efforts. Selig was also selected as the University Athletic Association Runner of the Week for her performance at the Greater Boston Track Club invitational on Jan. 23.Marie Lemay '11 came in 25th, place in the mile, finishing in 5:10.97.Annifreed Sinjour '13 ran to 28th place in the 400-meter dash, with a time of 1:01.20, and Casey McGown '13 finished 0.64 seconds and eight spots later. Victoria Sanford '14 ran the 800-meter in 2:26.33, finishing in 36th place. In the 3,000-meter run, Hannah Lindholm '11 finished in 47th place with a time of 10:50.55. "Pretty much everyone ran faster than last week," Lemay said.In the long jump, Lucia Capano '11 finished 11th with a distance of 4.95 meters. She also finished eighth in the triple jump, at 11.00 meters. Kim Farrington '13 finished 0.46 meters behind, in the triple jump, good for 14th place.Selig said that she was pleased with the team's performance."The meet went well on Friday, even though we only had four girls running from the distance team," Selig said. "We had some pretty strong performances all around.""We're on track for a good season," Lemay added. On the men's side, Devon Holgate '11 led the pack of men's runners in the one mile run at 4:14.57 and 25th place. Holgate's time was just under the NCAA provisional qualifying time, making him the first member of the team to qualify this season. Holgate also qualified last season, but his time was not high enough on the rankings for him to be selected to compete.Chris Brown '12 was next in the mile at 4:17.62 and 36th place, and Taylor Dundas '14 followed 1.02 seconds and four spots later. Marc Boutin '12 finished in 76th place and 4:26.91.Vincent Asante '14 finished in 15th place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.27 seconds. He was the only Division III runner to qualify for the final heat.Asante was 39th in the 200-meter dash, in 22.74 seconds. Teammate Charlie Pino '12 finished 0.32 seconds later and in the 200, good for 55th place. Stanley Xuelin '12 finished in 24.06 seconds and 93rd place. In the 400-meter dash, Mingkai Lin '12 finished 69th with a time of 52.13 seconds, and Josh Hoffman-Senn '13 came in 83rd place, in 54.07 seconds. Mik Kern '13 ran the 800-meter in 1:58.82, good for 48th place. Sam Donovan '11 was 27 places behind, with a time of 2:02.38.Ben Bray '11 finished in 15th place in the 1,000-meter run, in 2:32.56.Paul Norton '11 finished in 23rd place in the 3,000-meter run, in 8:31.81, and Alex Kramer '13 was right behind him, 0.36 seconds later. They were the top two Division III runners in the event.In the field, Steve Melnik '13 finished in 44th place, with a distance of 10.25 meters in the shot put.Norton and Kramer said that it was the team's best meet so far this season."Most of the team ran season bests, and a few ran their best times ever," Kramer said. "It was a really solid day for us throughout the team," Norton added. "Everybody is nicely rounding into form but still has room to improve for the bigger meets later on." The Judges' next competition on Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Tufts Invitational in Medford.
(01/25/11 5:00am)
At the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard University on Sunday, the Judges had several strong finishes. Marie Lemay '11 ran the mile in 5 minutes, 14.57 seconds, finishing in fifth place. She was 11.04 seconds behind the winner. Lemay described the mile run as "eventful," because several runners got tangled up and either fell or tripped other competitors in the race.Hannah Lindholm '11 finished the 3,000-meter run in 10:48.48, finishing only 0.28 seconds behind the winner, junior Evelyn Marrero of Bentley College. Casey McGown '13 finished the 400-meter run in 1:01.86, good for third place. She was just 0.01 seconds off of the second-place time.Victoria Sanford '14 finished in eighth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:30.21, 8.04 seconds off of first place. Fellow first-year Amelia Lundkvist '14 came in 23rd with a time of 2:38.13.Lily Parenteau '12 finished in seventh place in the high jump with a distance of 1.57 meters.In the long jump, Lucia Capano '11 reached 4.77 meters, good for ninth place. In the triple jump, Capano finished in fifth place with a distance of 10.72 meters. Kim Farrington '13 finished 0.49 meters behind Capano, good for eighth place.On the men's side, Chris Brown '12 stood out in the 800-meter run, finishing in second place at 1:58.04. He lost to junior Brett Stein of Bowdoin College by 0.41 seconds. Mik Kern '13 and Taylor Dundas '14 timed out at 2:02.26 and 2:04.48, respectively, good for 14th and 22nd places. Alex Kramer '13 ran the mile in 4:20.59, only 6.48 seconds and three spots off of first place. Marc Boutin '12 ran a 4:32.99 for 27th place."Personally, this was my first race after injury and limited training," Boutin said, "so we're just looking to do better next week." Ben Bray '11 was 1.77 seconds behind Boutin, good for 30th. Michal Dichter '13 came in 46th with a 4:42.63. In the 60-meter dash, Vincent Asante '14 finished in seventh place with a time of 7.13 seconds. Asante came in 11th place in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 23.24 seconds.Dan Anastos '11 ran the 3,000-meter run in 8:58.10, finishing in 11th place. In field events, Kris Stinehart '14 came in 17th place in the shot put with a distance of 11.49 meters. Steve Melnik '12 finished two spots behind with a throw of 10.53 meters. "It was a decent day for everyone," Boutin surmised.Brown concurred, saying that the meet went "pretty well; no spectacular times, but it was a pretty good day. It was a good meet to get ready for the bigger meets coming up." The Judges next race this Friday and Saturday at the Boston University Terrier Classic.
(01/18/11 5:00am)
Correction appendedIn his first home meet, rookie Vincent Asante '14 won two races and just missed setting a school record in the 55-meter dash. He was one of several Brandeis runners to win their respective events, and the men's team grabbed third place at the annual Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational, which was held last Saturday in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The women's team finished in second, led by Grayce Selig '11, who set a new school record in the 3,000-meter run.Asante won the 55-meter dash in 6.62 seconds. He ran the preliminary race in a time of 6.59 seconds, just .05 seconds off of the school record. He also won the 200-meter dash in 23.57 seconds.Also running in the 55 and the 200 was Charlie Pino '12. Pino earned second in the 200 with a time of 23.90 seconds and third in the 55 with a time of 6.85.The 4x800-meter relay team won its event as well. The quartet of Alex Kramer '13, Mik Kern '13, Taylor Dundas '14 and Chris Brown '12 finished with a time of 8 minutes, 19.34 seconds, more than 30 seconds ahead of Southern Maine University.Brandeis placed fifth in the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Stanley Xuelin '12, Pino, Asante, and Jung Park '14 finished in 3:44.98.Park finished second in the 55-meter hurdles.Kris Stinehart '14 finished second in the shot put with a distance of 11.23 meters.Brandeis had several top finishers in the distance events as well. Kern and Sam Donovan '11 placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 800-meter run. Both of them finished less than 4 seconds behind Southern Maine freshman Julian Gazzeloni, who won the event.Ben Bray '11 grabbed second in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:34.18.Brandeis had four runners finish in the top seven in the mile. Leading the way were Devon Holgate '11 and Brown, who tied for third with a time of 4:17.91. Alex Kramer '13 placed fifth just 0.28 seconds back, and Dundas grabbed seventh 0.69 seconds after Kramer.The team had four runners in the top nine in the 3,000-meter run. Paul Norton '11 finished third with a time of 8:42.72. Ed Colvin '14 finished fourth, while Dan Anastos '11 grabbed sixth. Vega was the fourth Brandeis runner across the line, grabbing ninth with a time of 8:54.23.Southern Maine won the men's side with 170 points, while Brandeis accumulated 111 points. The Huskies placed first in the 400-meter dash, 800-meter run, 55-meter hurdles, high jump, pole vault, shot put, and weight throw.Amherst placed second with 161 points. Amherst senior Tommy Moore won the 600-meter run in 1:24.30. Amherst also captured the 1,000-meter run in a time of 2:32.61, the mile, the 3,000-meter run, the 5,000 meter run, the 4x400-meter relay and the long jump with 6.55 meters.Lasell came in fourth with 24 points and won the triple jump with a distance of 12.47 meters. University of Massachusetts Boston had 22 points.The women's side was led by Selig, with her record-setting 3,000-meter time of 9:50.01. Selig set the school record for both the mile and the 1,500-meter races last season.Lucia Capano '11 won her best event, taking the triple jump with a length of 10.96 meters. Capano also grabbed third in both the long jump and the 55-meter dash. Kim Farrington '13 placed third in thetriple jump and fourth in the 55-meter dash.Lily Parenteau '12 won the high jump in 1.60 meters.The Judges also had two runners in the top four of the 400 meter dash. Anifreed Sinjour '13 and Casey McGown '13 placed third and fourth, respectively, with times of 1:02.88 and 1:02.95.In the 4x400 relay, the team of Capano, Sinjour, Farrington, and McGown grabbed second in 4:19.45.Selig wasn't the only successful distance runner for the team-Hannah Lindholm '11 placed second in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:09.78. Amelia Lundkvist '14 placed fourth.Marie Lemay '11 won the mile race for the Judges with a time of 5:13.51.Overall, the team was happy with its performance."[The meet] was good. Everyone ran well," Lemay said.Amherst dominated the women's meet, scoring 190 points. The Lord Jeffs won the 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, 1,000-meter run, 5,000-meter run and long jump.Smith won the 55-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 600-meter run and 4x400 meter relay for 70 points and third place at the meet. Lasell won the shot put with a distance of 10.22 meters, earning 41 points in total, good for fourth place.The race was the first on the new track in Gosman. The floor of the fieldhouse had been torn up and renovated during the winter break. Heading in, the team was excited to test out the new surface."We're excited to race on the new track," Brown said.Both the men's and women's next meet will be next weekend at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational.Correction: The caption under the photo for this article originally misstated the name of a runner. The second runner from the left is Stanley Ye, not Charlie Pino.
(11/16/10 5:00am)
The men's cross country team qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships last Saturday by placing third out of 49 teams at the NCAA Division III Regional Cross Country Championship at Williams College. This will be the men's thir straight appearance at the tournament.The women's team placed 10th out of 51 competing schools. "Our goal was always to make it to Nationals," coach John Evans said. "We consider ourselves one of the premier programs in New England. We'd really like to win it, but our first and foremost goal was always to make it to Nationals. That was, I think, the best Brandeis performance in probably 15 years."Paul Norton '11 led the team with a time of 26 minutes flat, good for seventh place. Norton, who finished third at last season's Regional Championship and seventh at Nationals, has been hampered by an Achilles tendon injury for most of the season."I'm pretty much recovered," Norton said. "I'm still not training at 100- percent intensity ... at this point, it's not really my injury; it's a lack of preparation in terms of training and racing, which I think showed a little bit yesterday. All these guys have been training hard and racing all fall, and I haven't been able to do that."Marc Boutin '12 finished the race in 26:16.3, 5.6 seconds ahead of Chris Brown '12. The duo placed 16th and 24th, respectively. Norton, Boutin, and Brown were all granted All-New England recognition due to their top-35 finishes. "[Norton, Boutin and Brown] all ran great," Evans said. "[Norton] has obviously had some problems with injury this year, but coming back and being in the thick of things at the front of the race just shows you how tough he is and what a great leader he is. [Boutin] ran another great race. [Boutin] came back to the team and ran exceptionally well, and maybe he can get better at Nationals. And then [Brown] has just been so consistent. To be All-New England really put us in great position to qualify for Nationals."Rounding out the meet for the men's team were Ed Colvin '14, who came in 38th with a time of 26:44.0; Dan Anastos '11, who finished with a time of 27:02.0 and placed 54th; Kerwin Vega '11, who finished right behind Anastos and came in 55th with a time of 27:02.9; and Devon Holgate '11, who placed 72nd with a time of 27:20.1.The women's team was paced by Grayce Selig '11 and Kate Warwick '12, both of whom earned All-New England recognition. Selig placed 23rd with a time of 23:08.2, while Warwick grabbed 27th with a time of 23:14.0. Selig's time was good enough to qualify her for Nationals, the second year in a row that she will be the only runner from the women's team at the meet."[Selig] has had a great season," Evans said. "She had a tough race yesterday, but she still qualified for Nationals. Obviously, we're hoping for a lot more, but she didn't feel well during the race. . [Warwick] ran a great race. She missed qualifying for Nationals by literally a couple of seconds."Two other seniors competed in the meet, their last as cross country runners. Marie Lemay '11 placed 45th with a time of 23:44.7, and Hannah Lindholm '11 took 85th with a time of 24:48.0.The Judges placed three other runners, including Amelia Lundkvist '14 with a time of 25:03.8, Erin Bisceglia '13 with a time of 25:13.2 and Victoria Sanford '14 with a time of 25:20.9. "All the girls have made me proud with the way they've run this year," Evans said.The NCAA Division III Championships at Wartburg College are to be held this Saturday at 11 a.m. for both the men's and women's cross country teams.Speaking of the men's team's chances at nationals, Evans said, "We're going out there to be one of the top 10 or 15 teams in the country. . We're hoping to be the top New England team. We're hoping to be the team to beat MIT and Williams. We're hoping to be one of the top UAA teams in the country. We're getting better every week, and I think we're ready for a really good meet out in Nationals." "On the right day, we're a top-10 team . and that's what we'll be shooting for," Norton added.
(11/02/10 4:00am)
Led by Paul Norton's '11 and Grayce Selig's '11 top-three finishes, the men's and women's cross country teams placed fourth and sixth, respectively, at the University Athletic Association Championship last Saturday.The race was held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. and was hosted by New York University, which had won the previous five men's UAA championships.Washington University in St. Louis won both the men's and women's races. Norton paced the men's team, placing third in his final UAA Cross Country Championships. The 8K race came down to the wire, with Norton finishing only 1.83 seconds behind WashU junior Michael Burnstein and just 1.16 seconds behind New York University junior Andrew Zitek. Norton beat out WashU senior Dave Spandofer by 0.71 seconds to grab the third spot on the podium. "It was a really close kick with the four of us, and I just don't quite have the wheels right now for a fast kick," Norton said. It was only Norton's second meet of the season, as an Achilles' tendon injury had kept him out of action until the University of Albany Invitational just 2 weeks before. Norton said that "it definitely didn't affect my performance," adding, "it was a big step for me from two weeks ago."Norton's time of 25 minutes, 42.01 seconds was still a significant improvement over his time of 26:19.80 at last year's UAA Championships, which he came in second."Paul is really coming along," Coach John Evans said. "The team as a whole did great."Overall, the men's team placed four runners in the top 25 at the meet. Kerwin Vega '11 came in 15th with a time of 26:07.15. Chris Brown '12 placed 22nd with a time of 26:20.59. Ed Colvin '14 finished less than three seconds later, good for 24th. Dan Anastos '11 rounded out the scoring with a 28th place finish.Colvin received Rookie of the Year honors. "[Colvin] has had a really great season" Evans said.Brandeis' 92 points were good for fourth place overall, finishing behind WashU, NYU and third place Carnegie Mellon University. University of Rochester finished fifth with 113 points, followed by the University of Chicago with 137, Case Western Reserve University with 158 and Emory University with 256 points.The women's squad was paced, as they have been all season, by Selig, who grabbed second place with a time of 21:30.97. Chicago senior Liz Lawton finished first with a time of 21:16.02."I was pretty happy with the way my race went," Selig said. "The girl from University of Chicago is a great runner, and so it was encouraging to have stayed with her as long as I did."Selig improved her time by a full 3 minutes from last year's UAAs, when she placed 20th. "[Selig] ran phenomenally. She's really come along from this time last year," Evans said.Marie Lemay '11 finished 23rd with a time of 23:02.98. Kate Warwick '12 placed 37th in 23:42.68. Erin Bisceglia '12 placed 38th with a time of 23:52.46. Hannah Lindholm '11 placed 41st in 24:00.06. Overall, Evans thought the women's team could have performed better in the meet."The rest of the women's team didn't do as well," Evans said, adding, "We hit some bumps."The men's and women's teams will next compete in the NCAA Regional Championships in two weeks, which will be held at Williams College.
(10/19/10 4:00am)
Gracye Selig '11 sprinted ahead of University of New Hampshire senior Sydney Fitzpatrick at the end of the Albany University Invitational Saturday to win the 5-kilometer race by 3.8 seconds with a time of 17 minutes, 34.2 seconds. "I found myself in the perfect position to execute the plan," Selig said. "I was following Fitzpatrick for most of the race, and with about 600 meters left, I decided to go for it. . It was exciting to win, but I definitely wasn't expecting anything. My training has been going well, so it's great to see it paying off."Selig propelled the women's team to a seventh-place finish out of a field of 22 teams, while the men's cross country team finished second of 25 teams. Overall, the women's team had 173 points and an average time of 18 minutes, 55 seconds in the 5-kilometer race. UNH won with 29 points and an average of 17:56.7 Middlebury College came in second with 85 points, and the hosting team the University of Albany had 88 points. Kate Warwick '12 finished 14th with a time of 18:30.2. She said that she was very happy to keep up and finish with a pack of Middlebury runners because Middlebury is "the top Division III team in New England." Selig spoke optimistically about her teammate."Warwick had a great race and undoubtedly should be in the mix come championship time," Selig said.Erin Bisceglia '12 came in 41st with a time of 19:10.6 Hannah Lindkvist '14 placed 53rd with a time of 19:31.6, while Victoria Sanford '14 earned 64th with a time of 19:48.4.Selig was pleased with how the team finished but said that the team could improve."We still have a way to go, but I think the team has the potential to surprise a lot of people," Selig said. The men's team also ran in the meet, finishing second with 91 points and an average time of 25:49.0. The University of Albany, led by junior Paul Lagno's first-place finish with a time of 24:51.7, easily won the race. Albany placed five runners among the top nine, totaling only 25 points. Middlebury College had 129 points to earn third place, followed by Binghamton University's 169 points and Colgate University's 194 points.Paul Norton '11 made his season debut for team, and he finished 11th with a time of 25:37.1."I certainly wasn't at my best, but for my first race back, it was pretty solid," Norton said. "I was glad we were able to pack it in really well as a team." Norton also said that his Achilles injury, which had kept him out of action, is improving. "It's pretty much fine," he said. "I'm still doing about half my training in the pool to avoid another flare-up, but I'm transitioning back to training 100 percent on land." Five Judges finished in the top 25 in the race. Ed Colvin '14 finished 15th with a time of 25:43.6. Coach John Evans said that Colvin had "a breakout performance" last Saturday. Chris Brown '12 ran in 25:49.5, finishing 19th, while Kerwin Vega '11 and Devon Holgate '11 finished the race in 25:53.0 and 26:01.6, finishing in 21st and 25th places, respectively.The next meet for the men's and women's teams cross country teams is the University Athletic Association Championships, which will be held at New York University on Oct. 30. Two weeks later are the NCAA Regionals at Williams College. After that, the teams will compete in the NCAA National Championship, which will be held at Wartburg College in Iowa.
(04/20/10 4:00am)
Grayce Selig '11 set a school record in the women's 1,500-meter run, leading a storm of Brandeis runners across the finish line at the Eric Loeschner Memorial Invitational at Fitchburg State College this weekend. The women's team finished in third at the meet, while the men grabbed fourth.Selig's time of 4 minutes, 33.91 seconds defeated Mariko Tansey-Holbrook's '03 record of 4:35.56 set in 2002."[It was a] phenomenal run by Selig" Coach John Evans said. "She really had an amazing meet today." Selig wasn't Brandeis' only top finisher in the 1,500-meter race. Brandeis finished with seven of the top eight runners in the event, and all of the top five. Finishing in a not-too-distant second was Beth Pisarik '10, whose time of 4:38.32 was good enough to qualify her provisionally for the Division III NCAA Championships that will be held at the end of May. "[Pisarik] ran a great race as well. It was really just a phenomenal job by both [Selig and Pisarik]," Evans said. "On the last lap, Selig and Pisarik had broken away and were just booking it. . They were strong all the way through," Lucia Capano '12 said.Selig, Pisarik, and the rest of the team's times were made even more impressive by the cold and wet weather, both of which are difficult conditions for runners. "The conditions were cold and windy, but we got the times which was great. . For the most part, everyone had really good days," Evans said.Following Pisarik across the finish line were Erin Bisceglia '12, Alyssa Pisarik '12 and Marie Lemay '11, who respectively finished third, fourth and fifth, with times of 4:45.19, 4:53.26 and 4:54.01. Only a sixth-place finish by Worcester Polytechnic Institue freshman Vicky Hewey prevented Brandeis from grabbing the first seven places. Hannah Lindholm '11 and Kate Warwick '12 finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively.The men's results in the 1,500-meter event were nearly as impressive as the women's. Brandeis placed five runners in the top eleven spots, including three of the top five. Leading the pack was Devon Holgate '11, who finished first with a time of 4:00.89.Marc Boutin '12 was less than a second off of Holgate's pace, grabbing third with at time of 4:01.74. It was really close at the end with [Holgate] and [Boutin]," Capano said. "It came right down to the wire and Holgate just did a great job of holding off the Fitchburg State runner."Behind Holgate and Boutin was Chris Brown '12, who finished fifth with a time of 4:02.58. "Those three guys up front ran really good races," Evans said. Also competing for the Judges were Sam Donovan '11, Jake Newfield '13 and Raymond Chen '10, who finished seventh, eleventh and twenty-first, respectively.Several other Brandeis runners won their events. In women's field, Capano finished first in the triple jump with a distance of 10.94 meters. Capano also finished second in the long jump with a distance of 4.92 meters. Evans commented on Capano's consistency over the course of the year."Capano has been great all year. She's consistently been at the front of the field and she showed it again this weekend," Evans said.Suzanne Bernier '10 also secured a first-place finish for the Judges, winning the high jump with a height of 1.59 meters Parenteau finished third in the event. The final first-place finish for the women was in the 4x100 meter relay race. The group of Brittany Bell '13, Capano, Farrington and Michelle Gellman '11 won the meet with a time of 51.02. "It's a young group, but they're doing well and should be competitive at UAAs next week," Evans said. Capano also commented on the team's need for improvement."Our time two weeks ago was better, and we need to work on handoffs, but we have made great progress and should be very competitive next weekend," Capano added.Also grabbing a first-place finish for the Judges was Mingkai Lin '12, who won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.54 seconds. "He's only been running hurdles for a few weeks and hasn't run many races, but he has looked pretty goood so far," Evans said.Kayley Wolf '12 took second in the women's 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.46 seconds. Desiree Murphy '10 finished second in the women's discus with a distance of 32.11 meters.In men's field, Charlie Pino '12 placed third in the long jump with a distance of 5.71 meters.The men's short distance runners also placed several competitors in the top 10. Mik Kern '13 finished third in the 800-meter race, while Will Collins '10 placed seventh in the event. In the men's 400, Aaron Udel '10 finished sixth, and Josh Hoffman-Senn '13 finished seventh. The team's next meet will be this weekend, where it will compete in the University Athletic Association Championships at Washington University in St. Louis.
(02/09/10 5:00am)
The men's and women's indoor track and field teams traveled to Tufts University to compete in the Tufts Stampede Invitational Saturday, a meet geared for individual rather than team competiton.The most impressive results for both squads came in the 1-mile race. The women placed first and second, with captain Beth Pisarik '10 leading the field with a time of 5 minutes, 4.96 seconds. Hannah Lindholm '11 finished 11 seconds behind her for second.For the men, Chris Brown '12 finished second by 1/100th of a second. "For the last 150 meters Brown and [Tufts senior Jesse Faller] were neck and neck, and it was a very, very close finish," Anifreed Sinjour '13 said. "You couldn't tell who won with the naked eye, and it is disappointing that he lost, but it was a very intense finish." His time of 4:17.20 was still a personal best. Dan Anastos '11 finished 10 seconds behind Faller and Brown, grabbing third.Both the men and women also succeeded in the 3,000-meter run. For the women, Alyssa Pisarik '12 finished more than seven seconds ahead of the next-best racer, easily grabbing first with a time of 10:23.46. Sinjour believed that Pisarik ran well at Tufts."Alyssa looked really strong," Sinjour said. She was sprinting her last few laps and made it look effortless."The men's squad placed two runners in the top 10, paced by a third place finish from Marc Boutin '12 with a time of 8:52.14. Kerwin Vega '11 finished tenth with a time of 9:02.76, Devon Holgate '11 won the 1,000-meter race with at time of 2:33.56, Coach John Evans was pleased with Holgate's performance."Devon ran a really good race," he said. "He looked really strong and he is read to go for the next couple of weeks in the 1-mile."Classmate Ben Bray '11 finished third with a time of 2:34.71, while Mik Kern '13 finished 10th.The results in the long distance events were especially impressive given that many of the distance runners had the weekend off following two meets during the previous week. "A lot of people had run three days the previous weeks, so a lot of the distance runners were given the meet off," explained captain Lucia Capano '11.In the sprint events, the women led the way with first place finishes in the 400- and 600-meter races. In the 400-meter race, the Judges were paced by Sinjour, whon won the event with a time of 1:00.41."Anna had a great race," said Capano. "She held perfect pace, came around the corner first, and really pushed through to the end."In the 600-meter run, Julia Alpaio '10 won the race with a time of 1:38.95, and was followed immediately by Emily Owen '11, who finished second and less than half a second behind Alpaio. "They're both usually 800-meter runners but [Coach Evans] had them run the [600-meter race] because it's a really good sprinting workout, and they both ran excellently," Capano noted. Anne Gregory '13 gave Brandeis three runners in the top 10, finishing 10th with a time of 1:46.58.Perhaps the most impressive individual performance on the day came from Capano, who easily finished first in both the long jump and the triple jump and also finished fifth in the qualifying leg for the 55-meter dash. Also grabbing first place in an event for the women was Suzanne Bernier '10, who won the high jump with a height of 1.60 meters. The men's sprinters were headlined by Brian Foley '13, who finished third in the 200-meter event by with a time of 23.37. A surprising finish on the men's side was by the 4x400 relay team, which finished in second. The group of Stanley Xuelin '12, Charlie Pino '12, Lin and Foley finished in 3:31.35. Sinjour thought that the team ran exceptionally in the meet."The 4x400 team looked really good. All of them ran pretty well and it was a very solid performance. It was definitely one of their best competitions in a while," noted Sinjour.Despite having both squads record high finishes in the meet Saturday, Evans still wants his runners to record faster times in their races."[We need to] continue the way we are running. We just want to run faster and run some faster times. It couldn't have gone much better right now, but we are looking for people to run faster times for the next couple of weeks and peak a little bit.The men's and women's squads will next compete at the Valentine's Day Classic at Boston University next weekend.
(10/13/09 4:00am)
The men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up successful weekends at the Open New England Championships, with the men finishing in 11th place (third out of Division III schools) and the women in 20th (sixth out of Division III schools). Forty-nine Division I, II and III schools competed at the meet at Franklin Park in Boston. For the men, the meet marked the best team finish since they also placed 11th in the meet in 1998. The women's results were especially impressive considering two of their top runners were unable to compete due to injury.Paul Norton '11 again paced the men's team, as he has all year. Norton finished sixth out of 320 competitors with a time of 24 minutes, 46 seconds. He had the second-fastest time among Division III runners and was just 5 seconds away from a top-3 finish.Chris Brown '12 finished the 8-kilometer course with a time of 25:39, while Marc Boutin '12 finished 4 seconds behind him to give the Judges three runners in the top 50. Brown and Boutin came in 43rd and 50th place overall and were 12th and 15th out of Division III runners, respectively. "[Brown] and [Boutin] both ran fantastic races for us," Norton said.Devon Holgate '11, who finished in 113th with a time of 26:19, and Dan Anastos '11, who was 133rd with a time of 26:27, rounded out the top scores for Brandeis. The men's team was only 30 points behind the top Division-III school, a trivial amount given the scores were in the 300s. "We're better than we have ever been at this point in the season, which is definitely an encouraging sign," Norton said.Grayce Selig '11 who finished in 18:47, good for 46th place overall and the 11th-best Division III time, paced the women's team. Alyssa Pisarik '10 was 65th overall and 23rd among Division-III runners with a 19:03 time. "[Selig] and [Alyssa Pisarik] have both been having fantastic years for us, and it's really been a breakout year for [Alyssa Pisarik in particular]", Coach John Evans said.Ally Connolly '10 was the third Judge across the line with a time of 19:38. She finished in 117th place, good for 42nd among Division III runners. Hannah Linholm '11 finished 8 seconds behind Connolly, good for 128th overall and 45th in Division III. The women fared well despite competing without Marie Lemay '11 and Kate Warwick '12, who both were unable to compete due to illness.Both squads felt they did well against mainly Division I and II teams."We all have room to improve, but at same time, we were very solid and better than we ever have been," Evans said. "It's really encouraging to be among the top squads in New England." Norton said both teams used the meet to prepare for the upcoming conference championships, and the NCAA Regional Championships."In order to perform our best, we usually run less the week before a major meet, and that's what many teams do for New Englands. We are all training hard for the conference championships instead, so we ran hard this week and that definitely slowed us a bit," Norton said.Both the men's and women's squads next compete at the conference championships held at Case Western Reserve University on Oct. 31.
(09/22/09 4:00am)
Competing undermanned due to injuries and illness, the nationally ranked No. 13 men's cross country team pulled off a fourth-place finish at the UMass-Dartmouth Shriner's Invitational last Friday. The Judges were only able to compete with five runners yet still managed to outrun much of the competition, most of whom were using eight contestants. Brandeis finished behind only regionally ranked No. 7 Keene State College, nationally ranked Division II No. 13 Stonehill College and nationally ranked No. 27 the University of Southern Maine.The women's side was not so different: The Judges competed with only seven runners yet still pulled off a second-place finish out of 42 teams. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the invitational on the women's side. "It was a great weekend," coach John Evans said. "We had a smaller team going out, but we opened up better and we started significantly better, than we ever have." This was the first tournament of the year for either team, which had only run a small head-to-head meet against Bentley College Sept. 4.The men's team was led by Paul Norton '11, who finished the five-mile course third overall and second among Division III runners with a time of 24 minutes, 43 seconds. Norton's time was a full 25 seconds faster than the one he ran at this event last season, in which he barely missed being named an All-American.Chris Brown '12 was the second Judge to cross the finish line, closing out the five-mile course in 25:20. Marc Boutin '12 was next, with a time of 25:30. The two finished in 13th and 24th place, respectively.Devon Holgate '11 was the next Brandeis runner to finish, coming in 29th place with a time of 25:34. This was his first varsity race after missing his first two seasons with injury and illness. "[Holgate] ran a great race," Boutin said.Evans added to Boutin's remarks, saying that this was "an awesome way for [Holgate] to start."Sam Donovan '11 finished in 48th place with a time of 26:07, struggling because of illness. Evans said that Donovan "was running very under the weather, which probably added at least 30 seconds to his time." Dan Anastos '11 was also sick and was forced to drop out of the race before reaching the finish line.Three of the team's top runners were kept out of the meet because of injuries. Kerwin Vega '11 and Zack Schwartz '11, who had the fourth and fifth best performances at the Division III Championships last year, were both held out for minor injuries. Alex Kramer '13 was also unable to run with a minor hip injury. "We lost a few key people to injury, so this weekend was more about seeing where the team was," Boutin said. All three have been practicing and are expected back within two weeks.For the women's team, Grayce Selig '11 again paced the squad by turning in the team's best time for the second consecutive meet. Selig finished the 5,000-meter course in 18:42 to earn eighth place overall. In the team's first meet at Bentley College, Selig's time of 15:45 led the pack of 11 Judges who finished the race first.Kate Warwick '12 and Marie Lemay '11 also had top finishes, completing the race in 12th and 13th place, respectively, with times of 18:32 and 18:36. Alyssa Pisarik '12 and Ally Connolly '10 rounded out the five Judges who finished in the top 25 with 17th- and 25th-place finishes, respectively. Pisarik had a time of 18:47, while Connolly had a time of 19:07.The two remaining runners, Beth Pisarik '10 and Hannah Lindholm '11, finished in 38th and 39th place, respectively, as they crossed the finish line just one second apart from each other. Both teams will attempt to build off of their successes from last week at the Connecticut College Invitational Saturday at 10 a.m.
(09/08/09 4:00am)
Five men's runners and 11 women's runners on the Brandeis cross country teams crossed the finish line before any of their respective opponents at last Saturday's season-opening meet against Division II foe Bentley College at Weston High School. Both the men's and women's cross country teams cruised to victories over the Falcons. The No. 13 men's team won by a 15-48 decision, while the women's team took the meet 15-50. With both teams taking the top five slots in each race, the Judges quickly defeated Bentley by securing the minimum 15 points for the meet."It was a good day," Coach John Evans said of the opening meet. "We just wanted the team to run together and run a good solid race. It was accomplished on both sides. We picked up the pace as we went along, and it wasn't really a tough race."Sam Donovan '11 led the men's team and finished first among a pack of five runners in the 6,000-meter race with a time of 19 minutes, 54 seconds. Teammates Paul Norton '11, Dan Anastos '11, Devon Holgate '11 and Chris Brown '12 rounded out the top five, each finishing the course with the same time of 19:54. Bentley senior captain Steve Bergantino was the first Falcon to complete the course, closing it out at 19:56, good enough for a sixth-place finish. Brown reemphasized the team's goal to run together as a unit."We took it as a tempo run," Brown said. "[We] went easy to get back in groups and finished strong as a team."The Judges dominated the rest of the field by also taking the seventh through ninth seeds as part of owning 11 of the top 15 slots. Ryan Cheng '11 and Ben Bray '11 took seventh and eighth place, respectively, with a time of 19:59, while Alex Hulse '12 came in just one second later to take ninth place overall. Holgate's top finish in this race marks a big step in his return to the cross country team this season. Holgate missed both his rookie and sophomore years because of a quad injury and a bout of pneumonia that sidelined him during each of the last two cross country seasons, according to Evans. Holgate ran during the indoor track season last year but made his cross country debut last Saturday. Evans said that Holgate has progressed since his injuries and has become one of the team's best runners."[Holgate] had a good offseason, and he's really stepped it up and will be one of our top guys," Evans said. "We have a good team, and [Holgate] is going to be a big part of that. . Once he's gotten healthy, we've seen what he could do. I think he could be all-American in cross country."On the women's side, 11 Brandeis runners crossed the finish line as a group before any of the Bentley runners reached the end of the race. Grayce Selig '11 led the pack of nine Judges who finished with a meet-best time of 15:45 and found herself at the top of the field at the event for the second year in a row. Two runners, Jess Girard '10 and Julia Alpaio '10, had the second-best time among the field at 15:49 and finished in 10th and 11th place, respectively.Selif was joined at the top by Marie Lemay '11, Kate Warwick '12, Erin Bisceglia '12, Alyssa Pisarik '12, Hannah Lindholm '11, Emily Owen '11 and captains Ally Connoly '10 and Beth Pisarik '10.Bentley junior Lauren Lesniak was the first Falcon to finish the course, taking 12th place with a time of 16:05.Lemay spoke about her reaction to the team's success. "It felt good," she said. "It shows that we have a really deep team and that we're all pretty close to each other." Evans also added that last Saturday's meet would serve as good preparation for the tougher meets that lie ahead as the season progresses, as he expects both teams to reach the NCAA Championships this season after the men did so last year for the first time in 10 years. "It's a good stepping stone to see where we all are right now. It's just a good start," he said. "We have a big invitational in a couple of weeks. These are all prep races for [University Athletic Association Championships], and [Division III New England Regional Championships] and I think the girls will surprise a few people and qualify for nationals [with the men's team]".Both teams will next compete at the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational Sept. 19 at 10 a.m.
(04/28/09 4:00am)
The 10th Annual A Cappella Fest took place this past Wednesday, and the show was a great success. The Brandeis community raised over $700 for the Shana Foundation, a nonprofit corporation organized to educate health care professionals and the public about bacterial meningitis. Hosted by Starving Artists, the show started off with a performance by Voices of Soul. Prior to each group's act, the audience learned a fun fact about it. Apparently, all members of Voices of Soul are bilingual. They kicked off their set with "If I Ain't Got You," featuring solos by Ji Yun Lee '11 and Darlene Zephyrine '12. The girls rocked it out, and the audience broke into applause when they paused for breath before the song had even ended. Making a shift, the group turned up the sex appeal with "Alright," which included a solo by Josh Kahane '12.Rocking T-shirts and yarmulkes, Jewish Fella A Cappella took over. Their fun fact? After A Cappella Fest, they headed out to walk to a gig in Newton. JFAC sang a fun version of the Passover classic "Dayenu" complete with adorably cheesy choreography and finished their set with "Juicy Tongue on Rye," an ode to a deli in Brookline and a spoof of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."Company B (which is also, apparently, a bobsled team) took the stage after JFAC. They started their set with "Woodstock," which featured a solo by Liza Behrendt '11. The sopranos rocked some serious high notes before David Neiditch '09 out-falsettoed them with his solo in "Witchy Woman."There was a brief interlude between groups as first-year Eric Freeman (Starving Artists' resident technical genius) rushed onstage to work with the sound system before Manginah took the stage. A fun fact about Manginah: if you don't know what they're saying, don't worry-neither do approximately 42 percent of their members. Manginah dove right in with "Kama od Efshar." The song included Harrison Bannett's '11 amazing tenor belt. Manginah finished its set with a crowd favorite, "Happy Ending," during which Jennifer Levy '12, Becky Fisher '10 and Harrison Kessler '09 performed solos.The last act before intermission, Rather Be Giraffes (who are apparently changing their "RBG" acronym to mean "Revolutionary Butt Gangsters"), came on stage rocking their signature ties. They started off with a debut song that brought us back to childhood-the "Nickelodeon Medley," which featured solos by most of the group and tributes to shows like All That, Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold, Doug and more. Keeping us in a nostalgic mood for a different era of music, they closed off the first act with "Zoot Suit Riot," with soloist Jordan Talan '12 serenading the audience into intermission.Estrogen levels climbed in the room before intermission even ended, and when Brandeis' resident boy band VoiceMale was announced, the ladies in the audience screamed so loud that the sound system shrieked with feedback. Fortunately, no panties were thrown, and VoiceMale-the self-proclaimed smelliest a cappella group on campus-took the stage to thunderous applause. They too sang a debut song, a VoiceMale original called "Please Don't Go," featuring soloist Noah Schnoll '09. Going out on a lively note, they finished their set with "When the Lights Go Out," a piece accompanied by choreography from the lovely Julie Judson '11. Predictably, the girls once again went crazy, and the boys collected their clothing from the stage and the audience at the end of the song.Toning down the hormone levels and giving the ladies in the audience time to cool down, all-girl group Too Cheap for Instruments took the stage. Their fun fact? They were absolutely, completely, utterly too proud to plug their album in front of-oh, wait. Oops. They began with "Dark Island," an Irish folk song with a solo by Hannah Cross '11 and finished their set with "My Favorite Mistake."Proscenium (which is apparently Swahili for "yo mama") followed TCFI. Members brought out their fun side and gave the audience some good-intentioned advice with "Mama Says" from Footloose, featuring a solo by Jonathan Muchin '11 before cooling down and heating up again with "Mama Who Bore Me" from Spring Awakening, featuring Megan McGrath '12.Closing out the night, host group Starving Artists took the stage to wild applause. They kicked off their set with crowd favorite "Everywhere," featuring soloist Morgan Schwartz '11, before heading into "Heard it Through the Grapevine." "Grapevine" featured soloist Lisa Berger '12 as well as some very Voicemale-like choreography by the suit-clad male members of the group (not that there were any complaints from the girls in the audience). SA finished the night with a debut song titled "Bigger than My Body," which contained a solo by Jordan Brown '12 who, despite pouting at an uncooperative microphone before the song started, rocked out his solo and finished the night on a great (excuse the pun) note.A reminder to those who weren't able to make the show: Manginah, Rather Be Giraffes, Voicemale and Too Cheap for Instruments have soon-to-be or just-released albums that you should definitely keep an eye out for.
(04/28/09 4:00am)
Entering the University Athletic Association Championships last weekend at Carnegie Mellon University, the women's outdoor track and field team knew it would need a balanced effort to finish well and compete with its conference foes. The Judges got one and finished higher than they did last season.Employing their usual combination of depth in distance events and skill in the jumping events, the Judges finished fourth out of seven teams with 101 points despite not having any of their members win an individual event. Washington University in St. Louis won the UAA title with 231.5 points.The men's team finished seventh out of seven teams with 35 points. WashU won the title with 221 points.The women's team earned 17 points from a trio of top-five finishes in the 1,500-meter race. Beth Pisarik '10 finished second behind rookie Erica Jackey of WashU. Pisarik lost to Jackey by a mere 0.09 seconds with a time of 4 minutes, 40.39 seconds."I have a really good training group, and our mile group is so strong," Pisarik said, "It's so great to have the support of your teammates, and it pushes me ever more than I would be able to do [without them]."Grayce Selig '11 finished fourth, and Marie Lemay '11 finished fifth, earning five and four points, respectively.Katy Agule '09 finished her outdoor career on a high note in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Agule finished second with a time of 11:25.79, earning the Judges eight points. Agule also finished third in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:55.97."I've never done this well at UAAs before," Agule said. "I'm really proud of the fact that I placed second in steeple and third in the [5,000-meter race]."The Judges showed their depth in the 800-meter and 4-by-800-meter races as well, as six different runners combined for three top-five finishes. In the 4-by-800 relay, Jess Girard '10, Julia Alpaio '12, Molly Shanley '12 and Hannah Lindholm '11 finished third with a time of 9:43.14, earning six points. In the 800-meter race, Emily Owen '11 ran in 2:18.83, finishing fourth, and Erin Bisceglia '12 ended up fifth with a time of 2:21.54.In the field events, Lucia Capano '11 and Ali Sax '09 combined for strong finishes in both the triple and long jump events.Sax finished third in both events, with leaps of 11.46 and 5.49 meters, earning six points in each event. Capano followed her teammate with fifth-place finishes in the same events, jumping 10.84 meters in the triple jump and 5.21 meters in the long jump."I think [Capano] is doing spectacular," Sax said. "I've been glad to have her with us; she is a huge addition to the team." Sax also finished third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.18 seconds, earning six points for the Judges.In the high jump, Suzanne Bernier '10 and Lily Parenteau '12 finished in a tie for third place, earning 5.5 points apiece for the Judges.On the men's side, the 800- and 1,500-meter races featured high finishes, but the Judges were never able to counteract their lack of depth in the field and sprinting events.The men's 4-by-800 meter relay finished second behind the University of Chicago with a time of 7:47.91. The quartet of Marc Boutin '12, Matt Jennings '09, Mike Stone '09 and Chris Brown '12 earned eight points for the Judges."It was a great performance by the entire team," Jennings said. "We were in it the whole time, we were unable to come up with a victory, but [the UChicago team] ran great."In the 1,500-meter race, three members of the 4-by-800-meter relay earned points for the Judges. Jennings finished fourth, Stone took seventh and Boutin ended up eighth.Paul Norton '11 continued to be a strong finisher in long-distance events, finishing third in the 5,000-meter run. Norton ran in 15:36.72 to earn six points for the Judges."When conditions are bad, things get funky," Norton said. "It was a tough race, but I came out of it with a pretty decent performance, so I'm happy."Mark Edwards '09 rounded out the scoring for the men's team, finishing third in the javelin throw with a toss of 52.04 meters.The men's and women's teams will travel to Springfield, Mass. next weekend to compete in the New England Division III championships.
(02/10/09 5:00am)
At the Bowdoin Invitational Jan. 17, jumper Anat Ben Nun '09 was the first member of the women's indoor track team to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships in the triple jump event. Last Saturday at the Tufts Invitational, a nonscoring team meet, Ali Sax '09 achieved a milestone, joining Ben Nun on the NCAA Championships qualifying list.Sax jumped a personal-best 11.26 meters to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the triple jump for the first time in her collegiate career, as Ben Nun and Sax finished the triple jump at the Tufts Invitational in first and second- place, respectively. Ben Nun took the event with a jump of 11.67 meters. "[Ben Nun and Sax] were outstanding," coach Mark Reytblat said, "[Ben Nun] increased her jump by 1 centimeter and [Sax] for her first time ever qualified provisionally for the NCAAs."Ben Nun was competing in her third meet this season after surgery on a torn meniscus in her knee ended her 2007 to 2008 season. The last time Ben Nun and Sax competed together at the Tufts Invitational was Feb. 3, 2007. The duo failed to take the top two places in the event, instead taking second and third place, respectively, and Sax said this year the two were prepared to do better."It felt pretty good," she said. "I was joking with [Ben Nun] that Tufts is bad luck and we have to break the curse, and I was happy that we both performed well at Tufts and broke the curse there."In other field events, Suzanne Bernier '10 took fourth-place in the high jump at 1.60 meters. Sax also captured a fourth place finish, leaping 4.98 meters in the long jump to end the day as the only competitor for the Judges to finish in the top four in two different events.The women's team had a strong overall performance, placing in distance and sprint events as well.Beth Pisarik '10 led the squad, winning the one-mile run with a time of 5 minutes, 10.4 seconds. Brandeis displayed its depth in recording seven of the top 14 one-mile times-Katie Warwick '12 (third), Grayce Selig '11 (seventh), Katy Agule '09 (eighth), Alyssa Pisarik '12 (10th), Molly Shanley '12 (11th) and Hannah Lindholm '11 (14th). "[Pisarik] ran an awesome race," distance coach John Evans said. "She is in great shape now; there is definitely a lot more in [her] and how fast she can run."In the sprints, Michelle Gelman's '11 fourth-place finish in the 200-meter race paced the Judges. "She ran the 200 in 26.80, [seconds, which proves] she is in excellent shape," he said.Julia Alpaio '10 finished third in the 800-meter race in 2:23.16, narrowly losing to sophomore Lindsay Pinkham and rookie Susan O'Connell of Stonehill College. Pinkham won the race in 2:21.48, while O'Connell took second place in 2:22.25.Rookie Chris Brown '12 was the men's team's only winner on the day. He took the one-mile run in 4:22. "[Brown] is really talented, and he's just getting used to the training, but he is going to be really good. He has tons of potential," Evans said. "It was good to see him end very strong in the race this weekend."In the 1,000-meter race, Matt Jennings '09 and Devon Holgate '11 finished third and fourth, respectively. Joe Otto, who is unaffiliated with any school, took the race in 2:31.23, with Keene State sophomore Jeff Trethewey finishing in second place just 0.02 seconds behind Otto. Jennings missed out on first by 0.85 seconds, finishing the race in 2:32.10, while Holgate came in just behind him at 2:33.18. Holgate missed last season due to injury and said that he is glad to be racing again and has improved since returning to action."Not being injured really helps," he said. "I'm running more than I have before, mileage-wise, and that is definitely helping [my running]."Sam Donovan '11 was 11th in the 1,000-meter race at in 2:36.64, and captain Pat Gregoire '10 finished 10th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.68 seconds.Both teams will next travel to Boston University Saturday at noon for the Valentine's Day Invitational.
(01/27/09 5:00am)
Finishing just shy of taking first place in three different events, Ali Sax '09 epitomized the women's indoor track team's afternoon at last Saturday's annual Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational. Much like Sax, the women's team just missed winning its only home event of the season, finishing just three points behind first-place finisher Bowdoin College, which totaled 157 points. "I was so pleased with everyone's performances today," Sax said. "I don't think there was any outstanding difference between [Bowdoin] and us. I don't think anyone was disappointed."The men's team placed sixth of 10 teams while tallying 78 points. Worcester Polytechnic Institute won the men's meet with 158.5 points. Sax was caught up in a pair of very tight finishes. In the 55-meter hurdle event, Sax won the preliminary round in 8.92 seconds but came in second to rookie Bethany Dumas from the University of Southern Maine in the finals by just six-hundredths of a second. In the long jump event, Sax was second to Bowdoin rookie Laura Peterson, even though Sax matched Peterson's best jump of 5.16 meters. Normally, the winner is determined by the best jump, but in the event of a tie, the contestant that leaps the farthest in their other attempts is declared the winner. Peterson's other two attempts were greater than Sax's, allowing Peterson to edge Sax for the win. Lucia Capano '11 was third in the event, jumping at 4.95 meters, while Anat Ben Nun '09 was fifth at 4.90 meters.Ben Nun would win the triple jump, leaping 11.58 meters to once again pass the NCAA qualifying benchmark. Ben Nun had accomplished the feat Jan. 17 at the Bowdoin Invitational. Capano was fourth in the event at 10.64 meters."[Ben Nun] is phenomenal in the triple jump," Sax said. "If I'm going to lose to anybody in that event it might as well be her. She's great."The Judges had strong outings in other sprinting and jumping events as well. Michelle Gellman '11 won the 400-meter dash in 1 minute, 1 second, beating out Bowdoin senior Alison Pilon by 1.33 seconds. In the high jump, Suzanne Bernier '10 and Lily Parenteau '12 took first and second place with leaps of 1.60 meters and 1.55 meters respectively. "We were fantastic [in the sprints and jumps]," coach Mark Reytblat said. "We just did really really well."In distance events, Brandeis dominated the one-mile run, capturing the top three places in the event. Beth Pisarik '10 had the fastest time at 5:11.36, while Grayce Selig '11 and Hannah Lindholm '11 nearly crossed the line together, finishing the race 0.79 seconds apart to take second and third place, respectively. Pisarik, Lindholm, Marie Lemay '11 and Julia Alpaio '10 were members of the Judges' winning 800-meter relay team, which finished ahead of second-place Bowdoin by 7.05 seconds."This is an important finish for [the team]," Sax said. "It's our home meet and we're going to see these teams again in the postseason so performing well here is important. [It shows] we're going to be able to compete with anyone."Like the women, the men's team fared well in distance events. In the 1,000-meter run, Marc Boutin '12 was second to rookie Tim Even of Southern Maine, finishing in 2:36.31 to Even's 2:35.02. Mike Stone '09 also did well in the event, placing sixth in 2:38.38.Much like the women's team, the men's squad also crowded the top seeds in the one-mile run. Sam Donovan '11 took first place in 4:22.49, while teammate Matt Jennings '09 was right behind him in second place in 4:22.56. Chris Brown '12 was fifth in the event in 4:24.86.Brown and Donovan would later join Boutin and Stone to win the 800-meter relay in 8:07.78, beating Bowdoin just as the women's team did."I think everyone is progressing well as far as being in shape and understanding how to race. It was a good race for us," Stone said. "It's nice to pick up victories and top finishes at our home meet, but it's still early in the season so we're all looking to improve still."The Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational is named after former Brandeis runner Reggie Poyau '04, who tragically drowned off the coast of Senegal while studying abroad in his junior year.Both the men's and women's teams are set to return to action this Saturday, Jan. 31 to compete at the Wheaton College Invitational at 9 a.m.
(11/04/08 5:00am)
For the third time this season, Paul Norton '11 had the fastest time among men's cross-country runners. But it was a balanced effort among the squad's top five finishers that propelled the Judges to a fourth-place finish at last Saturday's University Athletic Association Championships in Conyers, Ga."Our spread was really good," Norton said. "From our first runner to our fifth runner, it was only [about] 19 seconds [of separation], and from second to fifth was [about] seven seconds."Norton was one of five Brandeis runners who finished in the top 25 as the Judges scored 102 points, beating No. 12 Case Western Reserve University by six points for fourth place out of eight teams. The women's team, on the other hand, finished in seventh place out of eight teams at Saturday's tournament with 185 points.Norton, who said he was among the top 10 runners at one point during the race, suffered stomach pains for about a mile, which put him back around 30th place before he recovered to finish 15th out of 78 runners with a time of 26 minutes, 24.14 seconds."I think I could have been, like, top five or so if things had gone better," Norton said. "It was a little frustrating, but it wouldn't have made a difference in the team scoring, so I'm not that upset."Marc Boutin '12, who placed 19th, finished just over five seconds behind Norton. Boutin was the first rookie to finish the race and earned the UAA Rookie of the Year honors. It was the second straight year that a Brandeis runner earned the award. Last season, Mekonen Gendebo '11 took the honor by finishing in ninth place in the race."That was really exciting, definitely the highlight of the day was having the Rookie of the Year," Norton said.Kerwin Vega '11 placed two spots behind Boutin at 21st, and Chris Brown '12 and Zach Schwartz '11 rounded out the Judges' scoring with times of 26:41.77 and 26:42.99, respectively, good for 23rd and 24th place overall.The underclassmen also finished highest for the women's team, but the Judges fared worse in the standings than the year before, for the second straight year. After a fifth-place finish in 2006, the women's team fell to sixth last season and seventh this season."I think everyone was a little disappointed about today, myself included," Beth Pisarik '10 said. "But . I'm just trying not to let it get in the way of our hopes for regionals in a couple weeks."Alyssa Pisarik '12, Beth's sister, finished first for the Judges in 22nd place overall with a time of 22:55.14. Classmate Kate Warwick '12 came in second for Brandeis and 36th place overall."I like being one of the younger ones in the races, as opposed to in high school, when I was one of the older ones," Alyssa Pisarik said. "It's definitely good to be a freshman again, and I feel like there's a lot more competition and a lot more motivation and room to improve, so I really like the more competition that there is, because it pushes me to want to be better." Beth Pisarik, Ally Connolly '10 and Hannah Lindholm '11 placed third through fifth for the Judges, good for 40th, 54th, and 56th place overall, respectively.Both teams will travel to the New England Division III Championships at Williams College Nov. 15.
(09/23/08 4:00am)
Top performances from classmates Paul Norton '11, who placed third out of 278 runners, and Marie Lemay '11, who finished 11th out of 310 runners, led the men's and women's cross country teams to top-ten team finishes at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth Invitational last Saturday. The men's team came in seventh in a field of 38 schools, while the women's team finished third out of 41 schools at the meet.Underclassmen led the way for both squads, as four of the top five scorers for both teams were either rookies or sophomores."I was really excited. It shows that we have a really strong team," Lemay said. "We have a lot of good things to come in the future. It was a step in the right direction for a really good season."The women's team recorded five of the top 42 finishes, with Lemay leading the way with a time of 18 minutes, 43 seconds in the five-kilometer course. A quick start to the race allowed Lemay to top her previous personal-best time by 30 seconds."[Coach John Evans] told me to 'get a good start so you don't have to weave your way through a lot of people,'" Lemay said. "So I tried to start kind of near the front pack and just work my way and kind of get into a good rhythm to go through the race." Rookie Kate Warwick '12 followed with a 16th-place finish with a time of 18:51."My warm up felt awful; I didn't feel good at all [before the race]," Warwick said. "Then I ran the race and got to the end and I was like 'that was probably okay,' but I didn't think it was going to be as great as [18:51]. Breaking 19 [minutes] is a huge thing."The Pisarik sisters, rookie Alyssa '12 and Beth '10, came in 28th and 42nd places respectively, while Hannah Lindholm '11 finished 38th.On the men's side, Norton eclipsed his personal best by 45 seconds with a third-place time of 25:08 in the five-mile course. Norton kept with the lead pack throughout the race and was part of a three-man group that pulled away from the rest of the runners with two miles left. He finished four seconds behind Northeastern University rookie Teddy Vrountas, who came in first place, and only two seconds behind University of Southern Maine junior Tyler Jasud, who finished second."[Norton's] someone that the team has recognized early on, even last year, as someone who's going to be a big contributor in the future, and he's kind of coming to fruition this year," captain Mike Stone '09 said. "He's been able to put himself in good positions at races and he has the fitness to back it up,"Even with the career day, Norton said he is hoping to break the 25-minute mark. Still, he was pleased with the results of this weekend's race."It gives me the confidence that I can be in the mix at the conference and regional level," he said.Rookie Chris Brown '12 faced an uphill battle on this flat course en route to his 31st place finish, second on the team. Brown fell behind early, stuck in the back half of the pack for most of the race, but recovered during the final mile to post a time of 25:46. "I felt good at the end. I just kept getting faster and faster as the race went through, and I still felt good, so I was able to just keep going," Brown said. "My last mile was probably one of my fastest cross country miles."Stone secured a 35th-place finish with a time of 25:49, and Zach Schwartz '11 and rookie Ryan Cheng '12 rounded out the scoring for the team, coming in 50th and 67th place respectively.Both teams will compete in the Codfish Bowl at Franklin Park next Saturday at noon.
