The Judges had a very tough run this past week at the New England Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship meet hosted by Williams College. The men were able to muster six points to place 25th overall against some of the region’s top competition. The women’s team fell behind by a few points, scoring two total points to land themselves in 36th place.

 The men had a recurring theme throughout the meet, falling to second-to-last multiple times during the day.

 Regan Charie ’19 started the day for the men in a tough spot, running in the 100-meter preliminary dash. Charie managed to cross the finish line before last place, but his time of 11.34 placed him in the penultimate 31st place. Charie had been having a stellar season up until this race, falling to the top competitors. He continued to run despite his 100-meter performance, competing in the 200-meter dash as well. Charie broke the plane at 22.89 to save himself from the depths of last place. His time was good for 28th place, one shy of last.

Meanwhile, Irie Gourde ’17 lifted the team’s spirits with a fantastic finish in the 400-meter preliminary dash event. Gourde blew past the competition for a fourth-place finish, clocking in at a speedy 48.59. Gourde’s finish was good enough to propel him into the finals, pitting himself against some of the top runners from Dartmouth College and Rhode Island College. Gourde improved his time by mere fractions of a second, clocking in at 48.27 and scraping a bronze medal in the process.

Jack Allan ’20 performed in the 110-meter hurdles, busting his way to a 16.03 time. Allan survived the pack, easing his way to a 29th-place finish, one place short of last. Churchill Perry ’20 also fell to second-to-last in the men’s triple jump event. Perry projected himself 12.94 meters, good for 16th place. Scott Grote ’20 powered his way into the discus throw, hurling the disc 39.59 meters. His performance was good for 19th place out of 22.

The women’s team had a rough outing, with only two of the team’s runners placing in any event. Doyin Ogundiran ’19 ran in the 800-meter dash, managing to cross the finish line with a commendable time of 2:19.89. Ogundiran’s time placed her in 28th out of 29 spots. Emily Bryson ’19 continued her fantastic season, posting a time of 4:34.68 in the 1500-meter run. 

Bryson blew past the competition to land herself in seventh place for the day.

 Both teams struggled at this competition last year and were unable to improve on those results this year.  

Despite the difficult outing, though, they will be looking forward to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships at Westfield State University. The team will then head to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships beginning next Thursday at the University of Mount Union.

 Furthermore, although the men’s team will be losing a key competitor in Gourde, both squads boast a plethora of growing talent, eager to gain even more experience.  For the men’s team, Charie has proven himself as a true leader on the track, despite his most recent performance.  

For the women’s team, Bryson has become a true superstar for the Judges and will look to continue her incredible career over the next two collegiate years.

Lack of talent is not an issue for Brandeis, and the overall results of the season thus far have shown that these teams can compete alongside top competition.  While the teams will look for redemption at the NEICAAA meet next year, the Judges have a lot to be proud of from this season and have every reason to expect success moving forward.