Lyons vying for second straight national championship and sixth overall; Men look to better seventh place finish

May 23, 2002

SAINT PAUL, MN- The defending national champion Wheaton College women's track & field team is poised to make a run at its second consecutive NCAA Division III outdoor title and sixth national championship in the last four years, as the Lyons began their repeat quest Thursday at Macalester College. Also challenging for a top five placement at the three day meet is the Wheaton men's squad, who will look to better their seventh place finish from a year ago.

Hometown hero Amber James (Woodbury, MN) got things started for the Blue and White, as she shattered the Macalester Stadium record with a blazing time of 24.05 in the 200-meter dash, placing her as the top seed for Saturday's finals. James' astounding time broke a four-year old mark, which was set by Wheaton standout Deshawnda Williams '00. James is the current Wheaton record holder in the 200M, as she raced to a 24.02 finish one week ago at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship at Springfield College.

At the completion of day one, James anchored the 4x400-meter relay team to a first-place triumph in a blazing time of 3:48.29. Joining James was senior Niara Woods (Philadelphia, PA), sophomore Kim Spence (Dover, NH) and first-year Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA), as the foursome lived up to its billing as the team to beat on Saturday. Donoghue also competed in the 200-meter dash, finishing fifth in her heat with a time of 25.26.

Despite the early success, the Lyons also had to endure some pain and suffering literally, as Wheaton's 4x100-meter relay team did not advance to the finals portion of the meet. In addition to fumbling the final baton exchange between freshman Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT) and James, Wheaton's foursome paid a serious price as senior Shimera Daniels (Brentwood, NY) pulled up with a hamstring injury. Daniels and the relay squad entered the meet as the seventh seed, but for obvious reasons did not finish. Daniels also is scheduled to compete in the 100-meter dash, long jump and triple jump this weekend. She currently holds the longest triple jump at the Division III level this year with a distance of 40' 1 1/4".

Other Wheaton athletes that competed but did not advance past the preliminaries included junior Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY) and Spence in the 400-meter hurdles, senior Kate Getz (Cumberland, ME) in the high jump, first-year Erin O'Brien (North Easton, MA) in the 1,500-meter run and senior Ray Smith (Providence, RI) in the long jump. Kordzeil and Spence just missed qualifying for the finals with times of 1:03.64 and 1:04.56, respectively. Getz did not reach her designated height of entry, while O'Brien and Smith each placed eighth in their respective heats and flights. O'Brien finished the event in 4:51.63, while Smith posted a leap of 21' 2 1/2".

The Wheaton women had 13 athletes qualify for the national competition, which marks an all-time high for the Lyons. On the men's side, Wheaton sent four athletes to Macalester. On Friday, competition begins at 10:30 a.m. with the women's pole vault.

Last updated on 6/14/02.
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