Brandeis men set numerous personal records at BU

Mo Sidique '15
Mo Sidique '15

The Brandeis men's track and field team had a strong meet at the Boston University Terrier Invitational over the weekend. Competing against a massive field of Division I, II, III and unattached runners, more than half of the Brandeis athletes in attendance set personal bests.

There were more than 100 competitors in many of the events, including some of the best collegiate athletes in the country. The men's meet was held on Saturday, one day after the women's squad competed.

Rookie Ben Pomerantz (Barrington, R.I./Barrington) ran the 200-meter dash in 24.58 seconds, nearly a full second faster than he ran in his first collegiate meet last week. Sophomore Makalani Mack (Forest Park, Ga./Carver School of the Arts) ran the event in 26.16.

Junior Mohamed Sidique (Harlem, N.Y./St. Raymond H.S. for Boys) shaved two seconds off of his personal best in the 400, finishing in 52.75 seconds.

Sidique also performed well in the field events, reaching 6.14 meters in the long jump. The distance was good for second in Division III, 28th overall, and topped his previous career long by 0.10 meters.

Rookie Nick Wactor (Oakland, Calif./Head-Royce), sophomore Trevor Tuplin (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and rookie Jeremy Wilson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) finished the 400 in 53.47, 54.34 and 54.56 seconds, respectively, all personal records.

The 4x400 relay team of Sidique, Wilson, Tuplin and Wactor ran a 3:33.34, the Judges' best time this season.

Sophomore Matt Becker (Mendon, Mass./Nipmuc Regional) ran the 800 nearly five seconds faster than his previous personal best, finishing in 2:03.36.

One week after shaving more than 2.5 seconds off of his personal best in the mile, sophomore Grady Ward (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) nearly did so again. His time of 4:25.55 easily eclipsed the 4:27.39 that he ran last week. He placed just 90th overall, but was one of the top 15 Division III runners.

Rookie Matt Doran (Hopedale, Mass./Hopedale) finished the mile in 4:35.08, while classmate Daniel Leon (New York, N.Y./Bronx H.S. of Science) ran it in 4:45.44, both personal bests.

Rookie Mark Franklin (Auburn, N.H./Pinkerton Acad.) reached 1.80 meters in the high jump, good for third in Division III and 25th overall.

Sophomores Adam Berger's (Concord, N.H./Concord) distance of 5.58 m in the long jump was his best mark of the season. Berger finished 27th in the triple jump (second in Division III) with a distance of 12.58 meters.

Brandeis is back in action this weekend. The Judges will travel to Medford, Mass. for the Tufts Stampede.