NEW YORK, N.Y. – Brandeis University senior Alex Kramer (No. Andover, Mass./No. Andover) won his second University Athletic Association (UAA) title of 2013 today as he captured the 1,500-meter run at the Outdoor Track and Field championships hosted by NYU at Icahn Stadium in New York. Both the Brandeis men and women finished in seventh place as a team at the UAA championships.
Kramer, who won the mile run during the indoor season, captured the "metric mile" with a winning time of 3:56.34 seconds, just over a second faster than runner-up Stephen Ellwood of Emory. His time was about four seconds off his season- and lifetime best, set the previous week at Princeton University, and is currently ranked 13th in Division III. The Judges just missed a second All-UAA performance in the 1,500, as senior Mik Kern (Groton, N.Y./Groton) was fourth with a time of 3:57.74, a season-best in the event. Kern was 0.15 seconds out of third place and his second individual All-UAA honor of 2013.
The Judges also had three second-place finishes to claim All-Association honors. Junior Vincent Asante (Bronx, N.Y./High School for the Arts, Imagination and Inquiry) just missed his fourth career UAA title, placing second in the 100-meter dash. After running a time of 11.01 seconds in the prelims for the fourth-fastest time, he posted the same time in the finals, this time edging two competitors from Washington University by two- and three-hundredths of a second to claim runner-up status. Asante has won two 55-meter dash titles indoors – as a freshman and junior - and a 100 honor outdoors as a rookie.
Junior Amelia Lundkvist (So. Portland, Maine/Cheverus) turned in the best performance for the Brandeis women, coming in second in the 1,500-meter run. Her time of 4:37.87 was two seconds out of the championship but more than half a second ahead of third place. It was the 29th-fastest time in Division III this year, with Emily Cousens of NYU turning the 19th-fastest time to win.
The Judges' final All-Association performance came in the men's 4x800-meter relay. Kern and Kramer ran the opening and third legs, respectively, and were joined by sophomore Michael Rosenbach (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) and rookie Grady Ward (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) as they finished with a time of 7:48.47, about 2.5 seconds out of the top spot on the podium. Both Kern and Kramer earned their second relay All-UAA honor, having placed third in the distance medley indoors.
Brandeis's other top scorers were a pair of fifth-place performances. Junior Ed Colvin (Roslindale, Mass./Catholic Memorial School) came in fifth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:53.14, while rookie Adam Berger (Concord, N.H./Concord) was fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 12.89 meters (42 feet, 3.5 inches).
The Brandeis women had two sixth-place finishes in senior Kim Farrington (Shirley, Mass./Ayer) in the triple jump with a distance of 10.75 meters (35 feet, 3.25 inches) and sophomore Alyssa Fenenbock (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands Regional) in the javelin throw with a heave of 30.49 meters (100 feet even).
Rounding out the scorers for the Judges were senior Casey McGown (Clinton, Mass./Clinton), who was seventh in the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 1:00.95; junior Victoria Sanford (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) who was eighth in the 1,500-meters in 4:44.86; and the men's javelin duo of sophomores Jonathan Gilman (Yardley, Pa./George School) and Jacob Wilhoite (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara), who were seventh and eighth, respectively with throws of 47.97 and 47.16 meters (157-4 and 154-8).
Brandeis is back in action next weekend at the New England Division III championships at Colby College.