CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Many members of the Brandeis track and field teams concluded their seasons today at the Division III New England Track and Field Championships.  Competing against the all best teams in the region, some of which are among the strongest nationally the men finished 19^th with a score of 16 points while the women were 25^th with a score of 8.

Graduate student Irie Gourde (Portland, Ore./York Acad., Canada) continued his dream final season by claiming the 200m crown in a time of 21.55 seconds. This was a personal best for Gourde and reset his own school record achieved just two weeks ago at the Sean Collier Invite, which coincidentally was a meet also hosted by MIT. Gourde also contributed to the other big men's performance of the day as a member of the 4x100m relay. Also setting a school record of 42.58 for sixth, Gourde teamed up with teammates Regan Charie (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Reg.), Churchill Perry (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Westminster Acad.) and Lorenzo Maddox (Atlanta, Ga./Maynard Jackson). 

From the women's team, the performance of the meet came from sophomore Danielle Bertaux (Prides Crossing, Mass./Beverly) who ran quite close to her personal best as she placed 3^rd in the 5000m with a time of 17:52.96. Bertaux was one of only three people in the race to break eighteen minutes. Also in the race was freshman Niamh Kenney (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) who placed 9^th with a time of 18:39.36.  The women's 4x400m relay also produced a superb performance to score for the Judges.  The quartet of Leinni Valdez (Providence, R.I./Hope), Maya Sands-Bliss (Williamsburg, Mass./Amherst), Doyin Ogundiran (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills East), and Lisbeth Valdez (Providence, R.I./Hope) teamed up to record a time of 4:01.52 and nab a 7^th place finish.

Junior Scott Grote (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) had a great day in the throwing circle where he set a personal best in the discus to place 3^rd.  Grote threw 48.08m (157'9"), a five-inch improvement from his personal best set last week at the UAA Championships.  With his toss, Grote now sits at 26^th nationally.

A few other Judges also competed and put nice caps on their seasons.  Senior Ryan Stender (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) placed 12^th in the 5000m running a season-best 15:15.25.  Similarly, Regan Charie ran to season-best in the 100m running 11.09 seconds for 13^th overall. Sophomore Jack Allan (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip Reg.) recorded season best in both the hurdles and long jump running 15.52 for the 110m hurdles to place 14^th and jumping 6.47m for 13^th.  In the pole vault, both Breylen Ammen (Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) and Aaron Corin (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) competed, Ammen jumped 4.40m (14'5.25") for 11^th while Corin cleared 4.10m (13'5.25") for 17^th.

For the women, Jessie Moore (Rye, NY/Rye) and Willa Moen (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) competed in the heptathlon with Moen finishing 12^th with a score of 3142 points. Senior Jordin Carter (Fort Wayne, Ind./R. Nelson Snyder) finished 21^st in the shot put with a throw of 10.66m (34'11.75").  Two other Judges also capped their season on the track, sophomore Lydia Harris (Damariscotta, ME/Lincoln Acad.) finished 13^th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 68.44 seconds while junior Kanya Brown (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) finished 26^th in the 100m running 13.08 seconds.

The Judges will be in action again next week in Hanover, New Hampshire when they compete at the NEICAAA Championships, hosted by Dartmouth, against a mix of Division I, II, and III schools.