BOSTON, Mass. – The Brandeis University indoor track and field teams opened the 2014-15 season today at the non-scoring UMass Boston Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Center at Northeastern University. The Judges had five top-three finishes on the afternoon, four on the men's side.
Brandeis had one competitor reach the top of the podium, as senior Jarret Harrigan (Ipswich, Mass./St. Johns Prep) won the 5,000-meter run with a lifetime-best time of 15:22.17. Harrigan finished more than three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from cross-town rival Bentley. The Judges also had the fifth and sixth finishers in the race in sophomore Quinton Hoey (Watertown, Conn./Watertown) and rookie Liam Garvey (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield), who posted times of 15:38.29 and 15:46.40, respectively.
Brandeis's lone silver medal on the day came in the 3,000-meter run, where rookie Mitchell Hutton (Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park) was second overall, and the top collegiate runner, with a time of 8:58.45. Hutton finished 11 seconds behind an unattached competitor and edged a Bentley runner by just over a second. Hutton was 12 seconds faster than the next Division III runner in fourth place, while classmate Brian Sheppard (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regional) placed fifth in 9:13.86.
The men's two third-place finishes came in the 800 meters and the mile run. In the 800, senior triple jump All-American Mo Sidique (Harlem, N.Y./St. Raymond School for Boys) established a collegiate best by more than two seconds with a time of 2:01.97. He was the top DIII finisher by two-tenths of a second, finishing behind a runner from DII Stonehill and an unattached competitor. In the mile, it was junior Grady Ward (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) with a lifetime best of 4:23.29, trailing just two runners from DII Stonehill by three and two seconds. After another Skyhawk athlete was fourth, Brandeis rookie Ryan Stender (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) was fifth in 4:27.15. Senior Greg Bray (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) was eighth in 4:28.17.
On the women's side, sophomore Lydia McCaleb (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) was the top performer on the day, placing third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:00.85, just half a second behind the runner-up from Lesley University. McCaleb was more than a second ahead of Wellesley's fourth-place competitor. Junior Molly Paris (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) was eighth in the event with a time of 11:19.21.
Though they didn't place in the top three overall, the women's best event was the mile run. Junior Kelsey Whitaker (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Acad.) was fourth with a time of 5:12.27, trailing only one collegiate competitor by four seconds. Senior Kristi Pisarik (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) was fifth in 5:16.43 – a lifetime best – while rookie Kyra Shreeve (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) was seventh in 5:22.30.
Brandeis took one other top-10 finish, as rookie Haliana Burhans (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), coming off an NCAA appearance with the women's soccer team, placed ninth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.95 seconds.
Brandeis is off until January, 11, 2015, when they will compete in the Dartmouth Relays.