Last Saturday-while the temperatures outside were frigid-the competition inside the Ford Athletic Center was sizzling as the Brandeis men's and women's indoor track teams kicked off the new year in the Reggie Poyau Memorial Track Meet. The meet was named after the Brandeis student who drowned last summer while abroad in Africa. Popular and well-respected by his teammates, Poyau was a talented sprinter and former Boston Globe All-Scholastic runner from Brockton, Mass. He specialized in the 55-meter hurdles, an event before which a moment of silence was observed in his memory on Saturday.

The men finished fifth out of seven teams, which was a respectable performance against such opponents such as the University of Southern Maine and Bowdoin-the latter taking home first place at the meet. Injuries plagued the Judges, resulting in fewer members of the team taking part in the meet as hoped.

Continuing his success from last year when he qualified for the NCAA championships in his first year of collegiate competition, Ryan Parker '06 won the 1,500-meter run. The success of the younger runners bodes well for the future of the team, which includes Peter Vigneron '07. The first-year captured the 3,000-meter run in his first collegiate meet, edging USM's Mike Bunker by less than a second.

The Judges are led by Dan Goldner '04, Ben Oh '04, Craig Simons '04, and Patrick Winn '04, as well as graduate student Abe Weinograd. Oh finished third in the 55-meter dash, while Weinograd was third in the weight throw with a toss of 13.81 meters.

The captains and seniors are all very hardworking, and are good role models for the rest of the team, said Aaron Rothberg '06, who was unable to compete in the meet because of an injury suffered during practice.

"The competition at the meet was very good, and our younger runners performed well. Staying healthy and having our younger runners do well will be important in upcoming meets. I'm looking forward to the season, Rothberg said."

The women's outing was a bit more successful, as the team finished third out of eight, coming in only six points behind second place finisher MIT. Bowdoin took first.

The success of the Judges came as a result of winning performances by the team's veterans and newcomers. Overall, the Brandeis women won seven events. Katie Schill '05 took home two individual events: the 55-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash, while Linda Kropp '07 won the long-jump and placed third in the 55-meter dash. Jane Farrell '05 won the 400-meter run and placed fourth in the pole vault. Captain Gretchen Chick '04 won the 1,000-meter run and anchored the 4-by-800-meter relay team that took first place. Her classmate ,Samantha Miller '04, won the 5,000-meter run.

Much of this year's success will depend on the performances of the experienced upperclassmen and the newcomers, as the squad has acquired a number of talented first-years and transfer students.
"I was very impressed with the team's performance at the meet," said Farrell, who is optimistic for the upcoming season. "There is a lot of new talent. We have a lot of potential, and I can't wait to see what we can do in the future."

Up next for the Judges is the Bowdoin Invitational Meet, when both the men and women's teams will travel to Brunswick, Maine for Saturday's competition.