Brandeis Magazine

Eleena Zhelezov ’95, a nine-time NCAA champion, was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame on May 25. A 2001 inductee into the Brandeis Athletic Hall of Fame, she was an eight-time triple jump champion from 1992–95, making her one of only two student-athletes in NCAA history, male or female, in all three divisions to sweep an event both indoors and outdoors in her career. She also won a championship in the long jump indoors as a first-year student. The 1995 Division III Track and Field Athlete of the Year and ECAC Robbins Scholar-Athlete, Zhelezov lives in Cambridge, Mass., and works as an architect for CGKV Architects.

First-year fencer Julian Cardillo ’14 became the first rookie to earn Northeast Fencing Conference Fencer of the Year honors. Competing in the foil, Cardillo posted a 24-1 record in the NFC and finished sixth in the Northeast region. He earned a berth in the NCAA championships, becoming the first Brandeis freshman to do so since Will Friedman ’09 in 2006. Cardillo, who finished 17th out of 24 fencers at the NCAA championships, was joined at nationals by Alex Powell ’12, who placed 23rd in the epee. They helped Brandeis to finish in 20th place at the all-division championships, second among Division III squads.

The men’s basketball team went on the road to capture its first ECAC title since 1992. The Judges won at Keene State 84-77, beat Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on a neutral floor 76-66 and upended top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State on its home court 65-50 to earn the program’s third crown overall. Ben Bartoldus ’14 claimed tournament Most Valuable Player honors by scoring 34 points and shooting 68.4 percent overall and 62.5 percent from 3-point range in the three-game string.

Track and field star Grayce Selig ’11, who was featured in the spring issue of Brandeis Magazine, earned her third career All-America honor in the mile run with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. The school record-holder in the event, she will go for her fourth All-America nod during the outdoor season in the 5,000-meter run. On the men’s side, University Athletic Association sprinters will have to contend with Vincent Asante ’14 for three more years. The Ghanaian-born standout was named the UAA Rookie of the Year both indoors and outdoors, where he won the 55- and 100-meter dashes, respectively.

On May 5, the Brandeis Department of Athletics presented its 2011 awards. Grayce Selig ’11 was named the Max I. Silber Award winner for outstanding female athlete, while track and cross-country counterpart Paul Norton ’11 was named the Harry, Ida and Joseph Stein Award winner as outstanding male athlete. The Morris Sepinuck Sportsmanship Award went to Abby Blasco ’11 of the volleyball team, and Taryn Martiniello ’11 of women’s soccer was given the Charlie Napoli Scholar-Athlete Award. Mia DePalo ’11 of the women’s basketball team received  the Morrie Stein Award of Valor. Information on all 2011 award winners can be found at http://www.brandeisjudges.com/information/news/2010-11/AwardWinners2011.