WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's track and field team put six competitors into the national rankings among the top Division III competitors this weekend at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic and the MIT Art Farnham Invitational.
Running among a large field with Division I, II and III runners at BU, sophomore Devin Hiltunen (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) vaulted into the top 35 in two different events. A member of last year's national championship distance medley relay team, Hiltunen was third in her heat in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.00 seconds, placing 60th overall – second among D3 runners – and ranking 42nd overall in Division III after her time was converted for the banked track. In the 400, Hiltunen is now ranked 34th nationally after running 59.51 seconds, good for third in her heat and 59th at the meet, third among D3 runners.
The Judges also put two runners into the national top 50 in the 3,000-meter run. Junior Niamh Kenney (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) was the top Division III runner at the meet, placing 38th overall with a time of 10:02.98, ranking her sixth nationally. Senior Danielle Bertaux (Prides Crossing, Mass./Beverly) was 53rd at the meet, third among D3 runners at BU and 23rd in the nation this season.
The Judges' final nationally-ranked finish came in the 5,000-meter run, where sophomore Erin Magill (Moretown, Vt./Harwood Union) lowered her p.r. by 15 seconds with a time of 18:07.23, which ranks 34th nationally. Magill was 42nd overall and sixth among D3 competitors.
The women sent several competitors to MIT the next day. Sophomore Sonali Anderson (Fayetteville, Ga./Whitewater) made her season debut in the 60-meter hurdles with a second-place finish of 9.71 seconds, just edging out senior teammate Willa Moen (Ashland, Ore./Ashland), who ran 9.72. Junior Tessa Holleran (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) was fifth in 10.07. Moen and Holleran's times were both personal-bests.
Moen also placed second in the high jump, clearing 1.46 meters (4-9 ½).
On the men's side, the Judges didn't have any national top-50 performances, but still had several fine races. At BU, senior Lorenzo Maddox (Atlanta, Ga./Maynard Jackson) was the top finisher of the weekend in terms of overall placement, coming in 33rd in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.36 seconds. Maddox was sixth among Division III runners in the event. Maddox also ran 23.37 seconds in the 200, just ahead of rookie Dean Campbell (Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. / Manchester-Essex Regional), who ran 23.41 seconds two heats later. The Judges other top performance at BU came in the 5,000-meter run, where sophomore Matthew Driben (Reading, Pa./Wyomissing Area) was 61st overall with a mark of 15:28.20, good for sixth among D3 runners.
At MIT, sophomore Dion Morris-Evans (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Northwest) had a winning performance in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.76 seconds, a season-best, and came in second in the high jump with a height of 1.93 meters (6-4). He cleared his first four heights on his first attempt. Junior Breylen Ammen (Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) cleared 4.25 meters (13-11 ¼) in the pole vault, a p.r. Sophomore Reese Farquhar (Newton, Mass./Newton North) added a third-place finish in the 200-meters at MIT (23.83 seconds) and fifth in the 60 (7.39 seconds).
The Judges return to action next weekend at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational at Tufts and NEICAAAA Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.