ITHACA, N.Y. and MEDFORD, Mass. – There were strong performances across the board by the Judges this weekend at most athletes' final meets of the indoor season. The Judges sent a sprinter squad to compete at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York and a distance squad—along with breakout rookie sprinter Irie Gourde (Portland, Ore. / York School, Canada)—to the Last Chance Meet at Tufts University. At the ECAC Championship, rookie Jack Allan (Wrentham, Mass. / King Phillip Regional) earned All-ECAC honors for his performance in the heptathlon.
The Judges competed at the ECAC Championship both on Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, sophomore Regan Charie (Topsfield, Mass. / Masconomet Regional) ran 7.27 seconds in the open 60-meter dash for 25th place and the women's 4x200-meter relay placed 16th with a PR of 1:49.43, edging out the next best team by two thousandths of a second. The relay was remarkably consistent, with less than 0.3 seconds between the splits of sophomore Kanya Brown (Amherst, Mass. / Amherst Regional), sophomore Maya Sands-Bliss (Williamsburg, Mass. / Amherst Regional), rookie Kayla Kurland-Davis (Colrain, Mass. / Mohawk Trail Regional), and rookie Jessie Moore (Rye, N.Y. / Rye)
Also on Friday, Jack Allan competed in the first 4 events in the two-day heptathlon in which he finished sixth (4329 points, 1 point shy of his PR). In the first event, the 60-meter dash, Allan ran 7.50 seconds—the first of 3 PRs in the 4 events on Friday. Allan did not PR in the high jump by clearing 1.75m (5 feet, 9 inches), however he found PRs in both the shot put with a throw of 10.66m (34' 11.75") and in the long jump with a leap of 6.49m (21' 3.5"). At the end of day one, these outstanding performances left him in fifth place and with even one more PR: the most points he had scored in one day. On Saturday, Allan came back in the 60-meter hurdles (his highest scoring event, 797 points) where he placed second in the heptathlon group, matching his PR of 8.77 seconds. Allan went onto clear 2.95m (9' 8.25") in the pole vault and run 2:59.56 in the 1000m.
Allan was not the only Judge competing in Ithaca on Saturday: fellow rookie Churchill Perry (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Westminster Academy) placed 11th on his final attempt in the triple jump with 13.53m (44' 4.75") and Regan Charie returned after Friday's 60-meter dash trials in the 200-meter dash, running 22.98 in a speedy heat for 15th overall.
That same day, the Judges had several top three finishers at the Last Chance Meet at Tufts University (over 274 miles away as the crow flies from Ithaca College). In the 5000m, junior Liam Garvey (West Springfield, Mass. / West Springfield) ran 15:10.79 for third, sophomore Doyin Ogundiran (Dix Hills, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East) bested her PR last week to run a PR 2:16.03 for third, and Irie Gourde placed third in the 400-meter with 49.70 seconds. Gourde also competed in the 200-meter dash where he ran 22.80 for fifth. Sophomore Julia Bryson (Quincy, Mass. / North Quincy) ran 5:10.79 in the mile for ninth and senior Maddie Dolins (Highland Park, Ill. / Highland Park) ran 10:25.90 in the 3000m for seventh.
After this weekend, it is a waiting game for several Judges as it pertains to qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship (March 10-11 at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois). At the time of publication, sophomore Emily Bryson (Quincy, Mass. / North Quincy) sits at third in the nation in the mile and seventh in the 3000m; she should comfortably qualify. Irie Gourde, however, may or may not qualify with his time of 49.21 seconds from the UAA Indoor Track & Field Championship last week. Sitting at 16th in the nation, he is right on the bubble. Depending upon performances this weekend as well as qualifiers scratching, it is currently unknown which Judges will be heading to Illinois.
By Henry McDonald '19