Williamstown, Mass. - This weekend, the Judges sent seven athletes to the NEICAAA Championships hosted by Williams College where the men scored 25th overall and the women scored 36th. At this meet, the Judges competed against athletes representing New England schools from all divisions. At this very competitive meet, two Judges earned All-New England honors with strong performances from the other five athletes.
Sophomore Emily Bryson (Quincy, Mass. / North Quincy) earned seventh in the 1500 meters with a PR of 4:34.68. In a strong race, Bryson was unable to catch runners from Dartmouth and UNH ahead of her, but outleaned an opponent from MIT, securing seventh by two one-hundredths of a second. This PR nationally ranks her twentieth in Division III, right on the bubble for qualifying for the NCAA Championships in two weeks (the top 22 women and top 20 men in each event are invited). The qualifying period will end this Thursday, after the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships where Bryson will have another chance to improve upon her already impressive time.
Fellow sophomore Doyin Ogundiran (Dix Hills, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East) was the only other female athlete to compete at the NEICAAA Championships. Ogundiran placed 28th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:19.89. Ogundiran is currently ranked 50th in Division III thanks to her bold performance at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships where she ran 2:15.15 for 5th place. Ogundiran has another opportunity to compete this season at the ECAC Championships later on this week.
On the men's side, five Judges competed, led by senior Irie Gourde (Portland, Ore. / York School, Canada). This week, Gourde focused on the 400 meters, running 48.27 seconds for third. The previous day, Gourde had run 48.59 in the preliminaries, his first time running sub-49 seconds twice in one weekend. Gourde's second-place earning 400 meters time at the UAA Championships of 47.82 ranks him 10th in Division III, so he has secured his ticket to the NCAA Championships. His performance last week at the Division III New England Championships in the 200 meters, a time of 21.78, ranks him 37th in Division III. Gourde also has a chance to improve upon both of his times later this week at the ECAC Championships.
Four other men made their NEICAAA Championships debut this weekend. Sophomore Regan Charie (Topsfield, Mass. / Masconomet Regional) was the only Judge to compete in more than one event this weekend. In the 100 meters, Charie ran 11.34 seconds for 31st. Charie then ran 22.89 for 28th in the 200 meters. Fellow sophomore Scott Grote (Greenfield, Mass. / Greenfield) earned 20th in the discus with a throw of 39.59 meters (129 feet, 11 inches). Rookie Churchill Perry (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Westminster Academy) earned 16th in the triple jump with his only legal jump, measuring 12.94m (42' 5.5"). Fellow rookie Jack Allan (Wrentham, Mass. / King Phillips Regional) earned 29th in the 110 meter high hurdles with a time of 16.03 seconds in a week off from decathlons. It is of note that his performance last week (where he scored 5764 points) would have earned him 8th at this meet.
The Judges will make another appearance at the ECAC Championships Wednesday and Thursday, giving some Judges another chance to qualify for Nationals and others a chance to end their season on a high note.
By Henry McDonald '19