The men's and women's track teams proved that they have the hearts of champions during the Boston University Valentine Invitational last weekend. Over two dozen squads took part in the event, including Tufts University, Williams College, Holy Cross College, Wheaton College, Johns Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Though the overall results were not as high at the meet due to the numerous competitors, many Brandeis runners ran personal bests in the meet.Brandeis performed strongly across the board at the meet. On the men's team, Paul Norton '11 ran to an 11th-place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14 minutes, 32.35 seconds.

"This was the first 5K I've run this season," Norton said of the race. "This has been a really long road this past year getting to that level, having those injuries and not being in the right place at the right time. It's taken a lot of work to get back to the level where I thought I could be and where I'm running personal bests."

Vincent Asante '14 also had a notable performance, placing eighth in the 60-meter dash finals with a time of 7.04 seconds. Stanley Xuelin '12 also participated in the 60-meter dash preliminaries, placing 55th overall with a time of 7.38 seconds.

In the 200-meter dash, Asante was again at the front of the Brandeis pack, placing 27th overall with a time of 22.44 seconds. Other Brandeis runners in the event included Charlie Pino '12, who came in 55th place with a time of 22.88, and Mingkai Lin '12, who finished 121st. Xuelin ran his way to 135th with a time of 24 seconds flat.

"I think almost everybody ran personal bests," Norton said.

Brandeis also had three runners in the 400-meter run. Lin came in 101st with a time of 51.63 seconds. Josh Hoffman-Senn '13 placed 139th with a time of 53.78, and Brian Foley '13 placed 141st with a time of 53.89.

In the 800-meter run Mik Kern '13 placed 70th and ran to a time of 1:57.25, 10 seconds behind the first-place finisher.

In the 1-mile run, Devon Holgate '11 was the top Brandeis runner, finishing 35th with a time of 4:13.95. Taylor Dundas '14 placed 53rd overall with a time of 4:18.35, Ben Bray '11 placed 81st with a time of 4:21.96, and Marc Boutin '12 placed 92nd with a time of 4:23.70. Sam Donovan '11 and Joe Jacobwitz '14 placed 160th and 174th, respectively.

Ed Colvin '14 and Dan Anastos '11 ran in the 3,000-meter run, earning 57th-and 79th-place finishes, respectively, with times of 8:32.53 and 8:41.37.

In the long jump, Pino placed 13th out of 31 contestants, leaping 6.35 meters on his final attempt.

On the women's side, Michelle Gellman '11 led the Judges in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 92nd place with a time of 27.77 seconds.

Casey McGown '13 headed the effort in the 400-meter dash, placing 55th with a time of 1:00.98. Annifreed Sinjour '13 finished 0.05 seconds behind McGown, placing 57th with a time of 1:01.03. Kristen Nichols '11 also competed, coming in 99th with a time of 1:06.56.

"I think our team did a very good job [last] Friday," Sinjour said. "I ran my fastest time of the season and so did Casey McGown in the 400."

In the 1,000-meter run, Victoria Sanford '14 ran her way to 34th overall with a time of 3:06.54. Marie Lemay '11 and Amelia Lundkvist '14 also participated in the event, coming in 49th and 107th with times of 5:08.08 and 5:31.04, respectively.

In the 3,000-meter run, Hannah Lindholm '11 spearheaded the Brandeis effort with a 75th-place finish at a time of 10:40.73.

In the high jump, Lily Parenteau '12 achieved a final jump of 1.58 meters, placing her 14th among 30 competitors.

In the long jump event, Lucia Capano '11 soared 4.78 meters, good for 20th out of 41 jumpers. Capano also placed ninth out of 30 competitors in the triple jump, achieving a final leap of 11.14 meters. Kim Farrington '13 also participated in the triple jump, reaching a distance of 10.64 meters and placing 17th overall.

"Farrington triple jumped her farthest jump of the season," Sinjour said.

Norton said that he was optimistic about the team's chances for the rest of the season. "I'm really excited with the lineup we're putting together for the championships in a few weeks," he said. "I think we'll be really competitive in every event."

Brandeis has its next meet this weekend at the Division III New England Championships, which will be held at Tufts.