WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University track and field team played host to the first day of action of the 2017 University Athletic Association championships today in the Gosman Athletic Center. The Judges had one All-UAA performance on the afternoon, along with four other scoring performances and a handful of competitors who advanced to tomorrow's finals.
Leading the way as an All-UAA competitor was senior Mark Franklin (Auburn, N.H./Pinkerton Acad.), competing in just his second meet of the season, finished in third place in the high jump with a lifetime best jump of 1.89 meters (6 feet, 2 ¼ inches). Each of the top three competitors cleared the same 1.89 height, but Franklin was third on misses. He has scored at the UAA indoor championships in each of his four years at Brandeis, improving by one spot each season to reach All-Association honors for the first time.
Franklin's six points accounted for all of the Judges' scoring on the first day of action.
The Brandeis women had three individuals and one relay score points with sixth-place finishes. Junior Jordin Carter (Fort Wayne, Ind. / R. Nelson Snyder) earned her first-ever UAA point for the Judges by placing sixth in the 20-pound weight throw, twice throwing 13.54 meters (44-5 ¼), the second- and third-best throws of her career. She was just four centimeters out of fifth place.
Rookie Kayla Fahey (Kingston, Mass. / Silver Lake Regional) was seeded eighth in the long jump, but improved by two spots to take sixth with a distance of 5.03 meters (16-6). She was just four centimeters (1.25 inches) behind the fourth-place finisher and 10 cm (4 inches) shy of All-UAA status.
Sophomore Julia Bryson (Quincy, Mass./No. Quincy) earned her first UAA point as well in the lone individual running final, the 5,000-meter run. Bryson ran about 10 seconds off her season-best with a time of 18:13.08, edging a runner from WashU for sixth place by 1.41 seconds.
In the final event of the day, the distance medley relay, the quartet of junior Kyra Shreeve (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional), sophomore Maya Sands-Bliss (Williamsburg, Mass. / Amherst Regional), rookie Madeline Hayman (Worcester, Mass. / Burncoat) and sophomore Meaghan Barry (Marlborough, Mass. / Worcester Acad.) placed sixth with a time of 12:42.44, as Barry's late charge at the end couldn't quite catch the runner from fifth-place Case Western Reserve.
For the women, one runner advanced to tomorrow's finals, sophomore Doyin Ogundiran (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East). Ogundiran posted the second-fastest time in the 800-meters with a personal-best time of 2:17.38.
On the men's side, the Judges had two runners who qualified for two finals tomorrow. Sophomore Regan Charie (Topsfield, Mass. / Masconomet Reg.) turned in the fifth-fastest time in the 55-meter dash in 6.59 seconds, edging into the finals by 0.02 seconds. Senior Irie Gourde (Portland, Ore./York School, Canada) was fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.07 seconds. Both Gourde and Charie will represent the home team in the 200-meter dash, with Gourde placing third in prelims in 22.39 seconds and Charie taking fourth in 22.54. Both runners on their respective heats. Rookie Jack Allan (Wrentham, MA / King Phillip Regional) also made the finals in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.17 seconds, seeded fifth.