Wheaton track and field teams boast one NCAA National Champion and pair of NCAA All-America athletes Friday

May 28, 2004

DECATUR, IL- The Wheaton College men's and women's outdoor track and field teams had a very memorable second day of competition at the NCAA Division III Championships Friday at Millikin University's Frank M. Lindsay Field, as the Lyons finished the day with a NCAA National Champion and two NCAA All-America performances.

Junior Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) stole the show on the men's side, becoming the first NCAA Division III male athlete to capture three successive national championships in the high jump. Since the first national championship held in 1974, only Olson and Stan Watson from Pomona-Pitzer have won three high jump titles overall.

Tying his season best with a height of 7' 1", Olson will have the opportunity to become the first male athlete to sweep the high jump event all four years during his senior season. Including the indoor national competition, he currently has a total of an astounding five high jump crowns.

Sticking with the high jump theme but on the women's side, freshman Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) had an outstanding collegiate debut. Harlow, who qualified for the national meet in the last weekend of the regular season at MIT on May 22, earned her first All-America performance with a jump of 5' 5 3/4". Harlow was in a four-way logjam for second place, as her finish gave the Lyons critical points in their quest for the team title.

Posting Wheaton's second All-America performance of the day was senior Kim Spence (Dover, NH/Barrington) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Entering the meet ranked 11th in the nation, Spence landed an impressive seventh-place finish with a time of 11:01.14.

Senior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) rounded out Wheaton's event participation in the trials of the 400-meter dash, as she posted the fastest time among 19 competitors in 54.97. James is looking to become just the second NCAA Division III athlete ever to have swept all the indoor and outdoor national titles in a single event. She will attempt to do just that on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Tomorrow's final day of competition begins at 11:30 a.m. with the women's triple jump, women's javelin and men's shot put. Wheaton has competitors in the women's javelin final, the women's 400-meter dash final, the women's 200-meter dash final at 3:55 p.m., the men's 5,000-meter final at 4:40 p.m. and the women's 4x400-meter relay final at 5:05 p.m.

Last updated on 5/29/04.
Send questions about this page to Scott Dietz or contact Wheaton College.

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