WALTHAM, Mass. – For their performances at the 2015 Dartmouth College Relays, Brandeis junior Kelsey Whitaker of Kingston, Mass., and senior Mo Sidique of Harlem, N.Y., have been selected as the University Athletic Association (UAA) Track Athletes of the Week for Jan. 12.
Running against primarily Division I and II competitors on Sunday, Jan. 11, Whitaker and Sidique had the Judges' two best performances. Whitaker has Brandeis's only scoring event of the meet, coming fourth in the 800-meter run, behind two runners from Dartmouth and one from Governor's Academy. Her time of 2:23.97 was the second-fastest in the UAA this season and the 13th in Division III for 2014-15. Whitaker is also ranked 12th in Division III in the mile run, an event in which she qualified for the NCAA championships last year.
Sidique also competed in the 800-meter run on the men's side, placing seventh, just 0.36 seconds out of a scoring slot. He was behind only runners from Division I or II institutions Franklin Pierce, Southern Connecticut State, Dartmouth and UMass Lowell. His time of 2:03.15 was his best of the season and improved to 39th in Division III this season. Sidique has yet to compete in the triple jump this season, an event in which he earned All-America honors during the 2014 outdoor season.
The 2015 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at the JDL Fast Track and hosted by Roanoake College in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 13-15. The top 15 men and 17 women declared in each event will be selected to the field.
Whitaker is a 2012 graduate of Notre Dame Academy.
Sidique is a 2010 graduate of St. Raymond High School for Boys.