Lyons post several national qualifying performances at Harvard's USATF New England Championships

February 23, 2003

CAMBRIDGE, MA- The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams posted a number of NCAA Division III national meet automatic and provisional qualifying marks at the United States Track and Field (USATF) New England Championships Sunday afternoon at Harvard University. No team scores were kept at the meet.

The women were led by junior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury), who broke her own school record in the 400-meter dash with an automatic qualifying and top time of 55.13. James, along with senior Jana Bromell (Spencer, MA/David Prouty), junior Vernick Smith (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) and freshman Oly Wirtz (Fitchburg, MA/Fitchburg), anchored the winning 4x400-meter relay team to a automatic qualifying time of 3:52.82. Smith also was a provisional qualifier in the 60-meter dash (7.85) and the top collegiate finisher in the 200-meter dash, placing second with a time of 25.29.

Wheaton posted two other top finishes on the afternoon, led by first-year athlete Aquila Williams-Judge (Boston, MA/Scituate), who recorded an automatic qualifying time of 8.59 in the 60-meter hurdles. In addition to the hurdles, Williams-Judge also achieved provisional qualifying status in the long jump (18' 8") and triple jump (37' 4"). Also victorious was sophomore Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School), who had a provisional qualifying jump of 5' 5" in the high jump.

Also posting provisional qualifying standards were senior captains Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham), Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) and Kerry Teamey (Klamath Falls, OR/Henley). Cullen and Kordzeil finished the 60-meter hurdles in 9.10 and 9.13, respectively, while Teamey vaulted 10' 11 3/4" in the pole vault. Junior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) bettered her time in the 800-meter run (2:17.68), while sophomore Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) posted second and fifth place results in the triple jump (37' 5 1/2") and long jump (17' 9 1/2"), respectively. Rounding out the provisional qualifying results for the Lyons was freshman Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury), who finished third in the 60-meter dash (7.79) and sixth in the 200-meter dash (26.00).

The men posted two provisional marks on the afternoon, led by junior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug), who just missed an NCAA Division III automatic qualification in the 400-meter dash. Benson finished second with a time of 48.86, which was closely followed by sophomore Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield), who was third with a time of 49.85. Sophomore Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) finished as the top collegiate competitor for the seventh straight meet, as he captured the high jump title with a leap of 6' 8 3/4". Also finishing as the top collegiate competitor was junior Tyrone McClain (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse), who was fourth in the long jump at 21' 9".

The men and women return to action this weekend, March 1, as both teams will compete in the All-New England Championship meet. The men travel to Boston University in Boston, Mass., while the women head to Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

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