This winter, the men's and women's indoor track and field squads have tested themselves against some of the top competition from not only Division III but Division I.

The Judges passed yet another test on Saturday during the Valentine Classic at Boston University.

The men's 60-meter dash featured five Judges. Vincent Asante '14 led the way, covering the distance in 7.11 seconds for 23rd place. Chi Tai '16, Adam Berger '15 and Ben Pomerantz '17 finished 109th, 110th and 111th while Makalani Mack '16 fell right in line, placing 116th.

Seven Brandeis competitors turned in notable finishes in the 200-meter dash. Nick Wactor '17 placed in 23.88 seconds, Jeremy Wilson '17 finished in 24.34 and Pomerantz fell just behind, crossing the finish line at 24.51.

Berger placed in 24.61, Tai ended in 24.93, Mack closed in 25.63 and Brandon Odze '16 rounded out the field with a finish of 25.71.

Wactor and Wilson then picked up 145th and 154th, respectively, in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 52.51 and 52.83, respectively.

In the distance events, three Brandeis competitors broke the 4 minute, 30 second barrier in the men's mile.

Quinton Hoey '17 placed 125th in 4:25.10 and Grady Ward '16 fell just behind in 4:25.63.

Matt Doran '17, meanwhile, had the 187th best time of the day, crossing the line in 4:27.08.

Berger proved to be the lone representative in the field events, producing a 23rd place finish in the triple-jump with an effort of 12.29 meters across the three jumps.

Matthew Becker '16 finished seventh in his heat and 168th overall of 233 competitors in the 800-meter run, timing in at 2:01.47

Though the only competitors on the women's side were four distance runners, they made their mark in the longer events.

Kelsey Whitaker '16 took eighth of 84 competitors in the women's 1000-meter run, clocking a scorching 2:55.73 for the five-lap race.

Her time was nearly four seconds better than her previous best and broke a school record for the race in the process.

Kristi Pisarik '15 and Molly Paris '16 both broke the six-minute barrier in the women's mile. Pisarik's 5:25.21 was good for 119th, and from there, Paris took 156th in 5:43.25.

In other distance-related events, Maddie Dolins '17 narrowly missed breaking the 18-minute barrier for the 5000-meter run, completing the 25-lap race in 18:06.18.

With the University Athletic Association championships will be held at Gosman Sports and Convocation Center in just three weeks, it is important that the team maintains its focus throughout the upcoming winter break.

According to distance runner Victoria Sanford '14, who rested the Valentine Classic, the UAAs mark the beginning of the postseason. It is here where the team hopes to be in its top form.

"[UAAs are at] the beginning of the championship season, so it is were we want to start to peak," Sanford remarked.

"Our goal [is] to continue to peak throughout the rest of the season."

Additionally, Sanford says that the team is excited by the prospect of hosting the marquee conference event this year, an opportunity that the Judges have not had since the 2009 to 2010 season.

"The team is really excited that UAA's are at Brandeis this year," she said.
"We are looking forward to some strong individual performances."

The Judges will compete next on Saturday at the Tufts University Cupid Challenge.