CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Brandeis track and field seniors Chris Brown (No. Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) and Kate Warwick (Boxborough, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) added All-New England honors to their trophy cases, earning top-three finishes at the New England Division III championships at MIT. In the process, each improved their standings in the rankings for the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track championships, which will be held May 25-26 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in California.
Brown had Brandeis's top finish of the meet at MIT, placing second in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.01, less than two-tenths of a second behind Jeff Marvel of Tufts. Previously ranked among the top 50 but not in an NCAA qualifying position, Brown shaved more than two seconds of his previous lifetime best and turned in the sixth-fastest time in the event in Divsion III this season. Along with his third-ranked time in the 1,500-meter run, he is set up for a run at two All-America honors in the same season, though it remains to see if he will make the attempt. Brown previously finished third at the NCAA Division III championships indoors in the mile run to earn All-America honors.
Warwick, running her second 10K of the season, placed third in the event with a time of 36:22.29. She was about eight seconds behind Ellen McKay of host MIT, who won the event, and three behind second-place finisher Molly Rouillard of Bridgewater State. But Warwick shaved more than 12 seconds off her UAA championship time and improved from 22nd place in the NCAA standings, which would have just barely qualified her for the championships, into 17th place. Warwick is a two-time NCAA qualifier in her senior season, placing 48th at the cross country meet and 12th in the 5,000-meters during the indoor season.
Those were the only two scoring performances for the Judges at the meet. Two Judges just missed All-New England honors. For the women, senior Lily Parenteau (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough), who placed 13th overall in the high jump, but matched the sixth-place height of 1.53 meters (5 feet, 1/4 inch), but falling in the standings due to the number of jumps. On the men's side, sophomore Kensai Hughes (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) was 10th in the long jump with a distance of 6.22 meters (20 feet, 5 inches), 4.75 inches shy of eighth place.
In the team standings, the Brandeis men placed 24th thanks to Brown's eight points, while Warwick's six points gave the Judges 21st place.