WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's track and field team had one championship, one school record and four All-New England performances at the New England Division III Track and Field Championships at Williams College. The Judges finished with 19 points and tied for 16th place.
Brandeis's championship came from senior Scott Grote (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) in the discus throw. Grote, who finished second in the discus at the UAA Championships, heaved the implement a personal-best 50.10 meters (164 feet, 4 inches). It marked the third-straight week that Grote broke his own p.r. and now ranks him 13th in Division III. The top 20 men qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. Grote also had a p.r. in the hammer throw, placing 15th with a distance of 47.11 meters (154-7).
The team's school record came in the decathlon, where junior Jack Allan (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip Regional) eclipsed a mark that had stood for close to 40 years, posting a total of 5998 points, just missing on the 6,000 mark. Allan eclipsed the old record, held by Mike Snyder '80, by 34 points. Allan was among the top three in five of the 10 events. He led in the high jump (1.86m, 6-1 ¼), was second in the long jump (6.35m, 20-10) and discus (34.95m, 114-08), and third in the shot put (10.88m, 35-8 ½) and 110-meter hurdles (15.65 seconds). His mark in the discus throw was a personal best. Allan earned All-New England with a third place finish and a mark that ranks 32nd in Division III.
The Judges had one other individual All-New England performance in a field event, with junior Aaron Corin (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) coming in eighth in the pole vault with a height of 4.46 meters (14 feet, 7 ½ inches). It was the second-best vault of his career.
The scoring rounded out with a relay finish in the 4x800. The team of rookie Aaron Portman (Wheeling, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson), junior Jacob Judd (West Hartford, Conn. / Conard), junior Erez Needleman (Bronx, N.Y. / High School of American Studies at Lehman College) and rookie Jacob Grant (Rockville Center, N.Y./South Side) turned in a time of 7:56.42, to place seventh overall, about three seconds behind Bates and three seconds ahead of Westfield State.
The Judges continue their season next weekend with the All-New England Championships at Southern Connecticut State University.