Women earn bronze and shatter pair of meet records at All-New England Championship; Benson ties school mark in 400-meter dash to lead men

March 1, 2003

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams were impressive to say the least at their respective All-New England Championship meets over the weekend. At Smith College in Northampton, Mass., the women placed third overall among 27 competing teams. Totaling 62.5 points, the Lyons saw NCAA Division I programs, Northeastern University and the University of Connecticut capture the top two spots. The Wheaton men placed 16th overall with 11 points at Boston University.

The women had a very memorable weekend, as the Lyons shattered a pair of meet records in addition to breaking the NCAA Division III mark in the 4x400-meter relay. In all, Wheaton saw three school records fall, including both the 4x400M and 4x200-meter relay marks. Juniors Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) and Vernick Smith (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) sided with sophomore Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) and freshman Aquila Williams-Judge (Boston, MA/Scituate) for an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying finish in the 4x400-meter event. Knocking off powers Northeastern and UCONN, the team posted a history-making time and remarkable finish of 3:46.58, as the Lyons sprinted to the fastest time at the Division III level in addition to breaking the 12-year meet record.

The 4x400M amazingly was not the only meet record set this afternoon by the Wheaton women, as Williams-Judge was at it once again, this time in the 55-meter hurdles event. In addition to taking the title, she captured a meet record, school mark and Division III automatic qualifying time of 7.94 in the event. Capping an unbelievable day, Williams-Judge ran a leg on the school-record 4x200-meter relay team while posting provisional qualifying marks in the 55-meter dash, long and triple jumps. Joining Smith, Amber James and Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) in the 4x200M, Williams-Judge helped Wheaton place second overall in 1:40.09, which was a mere 14 hundredths of a second off the top mark ran by UCONN. Williams-Judge finished sixth overall in the 55M dash in 7.18, third in the long jump at 18' 6 1/2" and ninth in the triple jump at 36' 10 1/4". Smith and Amber James weren't far behind in the 55M event, as the pair sprinted to provisional qualifying marks of 7.23 and 7.29, respectively.

Seniors Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham) and Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) also posted top placements on the day, as the tandem delivered two provisional qualifying standards in the 55-meter hurdles. Just missing an automatic time in the event, Cullen placed fourth overall in 8.28, while Kordzeil was sixth in 8.37. Junior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) also hit a provisional time of 2:18.55 in the 800-meter run, while first-year Oly Wirtz (Fitchburg, MA/Fitchburg) finished third in the 500-meter dash in 1:17.96. Rounding out the provisional qualifying standards was Donoghue in both the long and triple jumps, senior Kerry Teamey (Klamath Falls, OR/Henley) in the pole vault and Wheaton's distance medley relay team, which consisted of Spence, Wirtz and sophomores Lindsey Degon (Palmer, MA/Palmer) and Erin O'Brien (North Easton, MA/Oliver Ames).

For the men, junior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) tied a six-year school record with an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying time of 48.54 in the 400-meter dash. Benson placed fourth in his finals heat, while sophomore Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) finished fifth in his final. His preliminary time of 49.14 earned him a spot on the provisional qualifying list. Junior Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's) also had a strong day, placing fourth in his heat in the mile run and eight in the 800-meter run. He then sided with Benson, Walker and freshman A.J. Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) for a top section finish in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:22.08. In the field, sophomore Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) tied for third in the high jump.

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