This past weekend, the Brandeis Track and Field teams concluded their first rounds of the indoor postseason. Several individuals competed at two important qualifiers for nationals, the Eastern Conference Athletic Conference in Ithaca, New York, and the Tufts University Last Chance Meet in Medford, Massachusetts. The short distance sprinters went to New York to race, while the longer distance runners took the shorter trip to Tufts. Despite the team being separated by such a significant distance, the Judges seemed to run with the same unity and teamwork they usually have when together. At the ECAC, Jack Allan '20 earned All-ECAC honors for his stellar performance. Other runners performed well in both meets, showing off the Judges’ athletic abilities. 

At the ECAC, the women had multiple top performers, particularly on the 4x200. Kanya Brown ’19, Maya Sands Bliss ’20, Kayla Kurland-Davis ’20, and Jessie Moore ’18 outraced several teams the 4x200 relay, placing 16th in their new personal record (1:49.43). Each member of the relay was able to run with a very similar time, all within 0.3 seconds of each other, each helping secure their dominant finish.

For the men, Allan competed in a two day heptathlon, finishing his first day, and first four events, in fifth place. In the 60-meter dash, he finished in 7.50 seconds, the first of four personal records that day. He had superb outings in two other events. In the shot put event, he threw 10.66 meters and managed a long jump distance of 6.49 meters. He finished off the day with yet another personal record for the most points he's ever scored in a single day. 

Before finishing off the meet with a 6th-place 4329 point total, he performed well in a few other events. Most notable was the 60-meter hurdle in which he finished second, this time tying his personal record of 8.77 seconds. 

Other men runners also performed well at this meet, including Churchill Perry ’20, who competed in the triple jump, placing 11th with 13.53 meters. Additionally, Regan Charie ’19 ran a 7.27 second race in the 60-meter dash, finishing in 25th place.

At the Tufts meet, the squad ran with a fantastic level of intensity. Several of the team finished very well in their respective events, giving many runners the chance to potentially qualify for nationals. Liam Garvey ’18 came in third place in the 5000-meter race with a very quick time of 15:10.79. Irie Gourde ’17 also raced well, taking third in the 400-meter in 49.70 seconds, and 5th in the 200-meter in 22.8 seconds.

For the women’s 800-meter, Doyin Ogundiran ’19 came in third with a time of 2:16.03, and Julia Bryson ’19 finished 9th (5:10.79) in the mile race. Maddie Dolins ’17 snagged 7th in the 3000-meter race in 10:25.90.

It was a solid outing for the Judges at both the ECAC, and the LCM at Tufts, as the team managed to potentially secure multiple spots at nationals. Brandeis’ top runner from the women’s team, Emily Bryson ’19, who currently holds the third-best time nationally for the mile this season, should make the championship. Other appearances by Judges may be dependent upon the remaining performances of other teams around the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Gourde, for example, is right on the border of making nationals. He has had a truly remarkable season, and has put his talent on display all year long.  He has been a leader for his Judges squad, and the value that he brings to his team has never been in question. Whether or not he will move on to nationals, however, will all depend on how his fellow competitors run during their next meets.  He has performed admirably and has done all that he can to secure his spot among the other elite athletes in the nation.

The Championship will be exciting to watch for fans, and will take place on Mar. 10 and 11 of this week in Naperville, Illinois.