2020-21 season winds down for track at Tufts Invitational

Jacob Grant in a race
Jacob Grant '22 (Photo by Sportspix.com)

MEDFORD, Mass. – The Brandeis Outdoor Track and Field teams had one of the final regular-season competitions for the Judges today, sending a squad to Tufts for the Tufts Invitational. The event was a non-scoring affair, but Brandeis competitors set several personal bests.

Junior Jacob Grant (Rockville Center, N.Y. / South Side) led the way with a third-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.48, more than a full second faster than his previous lifetime best. Senior Josh Lombardo (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) finished 13th in the 1,500-meter run with his all-time best of 4:05.29, shaving more than a second-and-a-half off his previous best set at the 2019 UAA Championships. Rookie Walter Tebbetts (Amherst, Mass. / Amherst-Pelham Regional) also set a p.r. in the 1,500, lowering his best by nearly four seconds to 4:09.85.

Senior Aaron Baublis (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) broke 16 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles for the first time with a mark of 15.92, good for fourth place. Graduate student Jack Allan (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip Regional) had the top individual finish for the Judges, placing second in the long jump with a distance of 6.77 meters (22-2 ½), about five inches out of first place. Allan also placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.73 seconds.

On the women's side, senior Andrea Bolduc (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run with a p.r. of 4:44.37, which puts her just outside of the top 50 in Division III. It was her first time under 4:45, besting her previous mark set at 2019 UAAs.

Rookie Alya Campbell (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) just missed a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles, running 15.48 seconds, 0.04 off her best. Campbell finished in second place, just ahead of junior teammate Sonali Anderson (Fayetteville, Ga./Whitewater), who ran 15.60 seconds. Senior Lydia Harris (Damariscotta, Maine / Lincoln Academy) also ran a p.r. in her final meet with a time of 16.74 seconds, breaking 17 for the first time. Harris also finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:09.08.

Junior Devin Hiltunen (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) ran well in a pair of sprints, placing fourth in the prelims of the 100-meters with a time of 12.52 seconds, though she did not compete in the finals. It was her first time running the 100 as an individual. In the 200-meters, Hiltunen placed fifth in 25.98 seconds. She also anchored the team's season-best showing in the 4x400-meter relay. Harris ran the lead leg, along with rookie Ianna Gilbert (Queens, N.Y. / Young Women's Leadership School of Queens) and Campbell.

The Judges are scheduled to conclude the regular season on May 20 back at Tufts for the Last Chance Meet.