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Kelsey Whitaker Qualifies for NCAAs in Final Meet of Regular Season

Kelsey Whitaker Qualifies for NCAAs in Final Meet of Regular Season
Posted: May 15, 2015

From Brandeis University Athletics

In what was potentially her last race of the 2014-15 season, Brandeis junior Kelsey Whitaker (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Acad.) qualified for her third NCAA Division III Championship of the year.

Running in the 1,500-meters at the ECAC Division III Championships at Springfield College, Whitaker finished in second place with a personal-best time of 4:33.19 by more than three seconds. That was the 17th-fastest time in Division III entering the weekend, meaning Whitaker is likely to claim a spot in the 22-woman field at the NCAA Championships. The championships, which will be held next week at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., will mark Whitaker's third trip to nationals in 2014-15 and fifth overall. She placed 17th in the mile run during the indoor track and field season and was 210th at the cross country championships this year. Whitaker also competed in the mile run indoors and at the cross country championships in 2013-14, but this will mark her first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor championships. Earlier this season, Whitaker won the University Athletic Association crown in the 1,500-meters.

Brandeis senior Kristi Pisarik (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) competed in her final collegiate race alongside Whitaker in the 1,500 and placed 15th with a time of 4:56.83.

The Judges had four other competitors at the ECAC Championships. Sophomore Kate Farrell (Windham, N.H./Windham) lowered her personal best in the 5,000-meter run. She finished in 14th place and broke 18 minutes for the first time in her career with a time of 17:53.00, knocking eight seconds of her previous lifetime best. Sophomore Lydia McCaleb (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) was 23rd in the 5K with a time of 18:41.56. Senior Jarret Harrigan (Ipswich, Mass./St. John's Prep) ran the 5K for the men and placed 14th with a time of 16:04.61.

Finally, the team's lone sprinter, rookie Haliana Burhans (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) was sixth in her heat and 22nd overall in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.04 seconds.