From Brandeis University Athletics
Senior Adam Berger (Concord, N.H./Concord) and rookie Emily Bryson(No. Quincy, Mass./Quincy) each took home titles at the 2016 University Athletic AssociationOutdoor Track and Field Championships held at Washington University this weekend.
Berger earned his first career All-UAA honor in style, winning the triple jump on the final jump with a distance of 13.63 meters (44 feet, 8.25 inches). Ranked third headed into the finals, Berger fouled on his first finals jump to fall into sixth place. He moved back into third place on his next-to-last jump with a lifetime best distance of 13.36 meters (43-10), then surpassed that by more than 10 inches on his final jump to win the title by four centimeters (1.5 inches) over Ezugo Onejeme of host Washington University. Berger gives Brandeis their third-consecutive UAA Champion in the outdoor triple jump, joining Mo Sidique '15, who won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. Berger also added two points for the Judges with a seventh-place performance in the long jump (6.50 meters, 21-4). His previous best performance at UAAs in the triple jump was fifth place, outdoors as a freshman in 2013 and indoors this year.
Bryson won her second career UAA crown as she claimed the 5000-meter run in dramatic fashion. As she did at the 2015 conference cross country championships at Franklin Park in Boston, Bryson edged Chicago's Khia Kurtenbach. In the fall, Bryson won by 32-hundredths of a second. This time was even closer, as Bryson's margin of victory was just two-hundredths of a second, 17:46.51 to 17:46.53. This was Bryson's first collegiate race at 5,000-meters in track and field. It is her third career All-UAA performance, having earned honors during the indoor season as part of the distance medley relay in addition to her cross country honor. Junior Maddie Dolins(Highland Park, Ill./Highland) earned a point in the 5K with a time of 18:32.58, good for eighth place.
The Judges had three other All-Association performances. Senior Evan Scott (No. Kingstown, R.I./No. Kingstown) narrowly suffered his first defeat of the season in the high jump, placing second. Scott, who was seeded behind Joey Pasque of host WashU by one centimeter in the event, jumped the same height as Pasque in a head-to-head matchup, 1.99 meters (6 feet, 6.25 inches). Pasque, the indoor champion, reached the top of the podium based on the number of attempts to clear the height, as he made it on his first shot while Scott needed a second attempt. Both missed at 2.02 meters, which would have been a lifetime best for Scott. This was Scott's second career All-UAA performance, having finished third in the high jump indoors this year. Scott was joined by junior Mark Franklin (Auburn, N.H. / Pinkerton Acad.) as a scorer in the high jump. Franklin tied for sixth with a height of 1.89 meters.
Senior Kelsey Whitaker (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) won All-UAA track and field honors for the ninth time in her career, fourth outdoors. Whitaker placed second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:43.70 seconds, 0.37 seconds behind winner Megan Verner-Crist. It was Whitaker's third honor in the 1,500-meters in her career, having won the event last year and finished second as a sophomore. Whitaker was the fifth seed headed into this year's championship.
The final All-UAA performer was sophomore Mitchell Hutton (Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park), who edged classmate Ryan Stender (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) for a spot on the podium in the 5,000-meter run by about a second. Hutton finished in third place for his first career All-Association honor with a time of 15:30.55, 0.26 seconds out of second place. Stender finished in fourth with a time of 15:31.57. Hutton had never finished better than 13th in a UAA race, while Stender won the conference crown in the 3000 indoors.
Joining Berger as a scorer in multiple events was senior thrower Kevin Trotman (Bristol, Conn./Taft School) . Trotman placed fifth in the shotput with a distance of 13.18 meters (43-3) and sixth in the discus with a heave of 38.56 meters (126-6). Trotman moved up a couple of spots on his last attempt at the shot, going over 13 meters for the first time on the day.
For the third year in a row, senior Ashley Klein (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) just missed and All-Association honor in the javelin throw. She came in fourth with a distance of 32.88 meters (107-10), her season-best performance. She was about 10 feet out of a spot on the podium.
Sophomore soccer standout Haliana Burhans (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union)placed fifth overall in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.49 seconds. It was her second PR of the event, having run 58.05 seconds in the prelims. Junior Regan Charie (Topsfield, Mass. / Masconomet Reg.) rounded out the individual scorers, taking a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a personal best time of 11.26 seconds.
In the team scoring, Brandeis finished in seventh place on both sides. The Brandeis men scored 49.5 points, while the women had 36 points. Host Washington University swept both team titles.