The Brandeis track and field team opened the weekend competing against a field of mostly Division I competitors on Friday night at the Providence Friar Invitational.
Not surprisingly, the top performance was turned in by senior two-time All-American Erin Magill (Moretown, Vt./Harwood Regional), who placed fourth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:56.60. She trailed only two runners from host Providence and Division III Indoor runner-up Ari Marks of Wellesley. Magill's time was the ninth-fastest outdoors in Division III this indoor season (as of Saturday morning).
In the men's 3,000-meter run, senior Matthew Driben (Reading, Pa./Wyomissing) was the top Division III competitor, turning in a time of 8:52.62, good for 14th overall. Driben was 10 seconds off his personal-best in the event.
The women had three runners take part in the mile, paced by senior Natalie Hattan (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements), who placed 17th with a time of 5:10.75, winning her heat by four-tenths of a second over a competitor from Northeastern. Sophomore Lizzy Reynolds (Winchester, Mass. / Winchester) placed fourth in her heat in 5:20.90, 30th overall, while junior Bridget Pickard (Westwood, Mass. / Westwood) was eighth in her heat and 35th overall with a time of 5:28.55. Reynolds and Pickard's times were both personal-bests.
Four Judges also took part in the men's 800-meter run. Sophomore Samuel Kim (La Jolla, Calif. / Phillips Exeter (N.H.)) led the way for the Judges with a p.r. time of 1:57.00, second in his heat and 30th overall. Senior Jacob Grant (Rockville Center, N.Y. / South Side) placed fourth in his heat and 34th overall with a time of 1:58.13. Senior Aaron Portman (Wheeling, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson) was 37th overall with a time of 2:00.55, while first-year Dylan Whalen (Stow, Mass. / Nashoba Regional) came in 41st with a time of 2:02.50.
Junior Victoria Morongiello (Staten Island, N.Y. / Susan E. Wagner) rounded out the Brandeis competitors in the 800 for the women, placing 16th with a time of 2:24.25.
On Saturday, the Judges ran at the Amherst Spring Fling at Amherst College. For the women, the highest finish was turned in by senior Sonali Anderson (Fayetteville, Ga./Whitewater), who was the runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.74 seconds. Sophomore Alya Campbell (Eastchester, N.Y. / Eastchester) was fifth in the event with a time of 15.94 seconds.
In the pole vault, sophomore Smiley Huynh (Bronx, N.Y. / Bronx H.S. of Science) placed third with a height of 3.25 meters (), besting five others on number of attempts. Huynh also placed 10th in the 100-meter dash in 13.17 seconds. The Judges added three top-10 finishers in the 200-meter dash: Campbell, who placed fifth in 27.00 seconds; sophomore Liz Korn (Piedmont, Calif. / Piedmont), who was sixth in 27.22 and senior Devin Hiltunen (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy), who was eighth in 27.35 seconds.
In the 400-meter hurdles, junior Yahni Lapa (West Newton, Mass. / Newton North) placed fifth in 1:07.89, while sophomore Ianna Gilbert (Queens, N.Y. / Young Women's Leadership School of Queens) was eighth in 1:17.41.
On the men's side, senior Dion Morris-Evans (Canal Fulton, Ohio / Northwest) was the team's lone winner on the day, placing first in the high jump with a leap of 1.85 meters, tied with two others. He also placed eighth in the long jump at 5.93 meters.
The Judges had a pair of third-place finishes, from sophomore Ori Slotky (Closter, N.J. / Northern Valley Regional) in the triple jump (12.11 meters) and junior Thomas Vandalovsky (Ridgewood, N.J. / Ridgewood) in the hammer throw (43.19 meters). Vandalovsky was also fifth in the shot put (11.96 meters). Junior Zachary Reynolds (Cherry Valley, Mass. / Leicester) was seventh in the discus throw (36.76 meters).
On the track, the Judges' top performance came in the 100-meter dash, where first-year Danny Krigman (Chelmsford, Mass. / Chelmsford) placed fifth in 11.47 seconds and sophomore Parker Jones (Westbury, N.Y. / Packer Collegiate Institute) was eighth in 11.78 seconds. First-year Dean Carey (New York, N.Y. / Stuyvesant) was eighth in the 200 meters with a time of 23.27 seconds.
The Judges return to action on April 15 and 16 at the Connecticut College Silfen Invitational.