Olson shatters Wheaton men's high jump record at 35th annual Dartmouth Relays; Battista's school mark leads women to bronze finish

January 11, 2004

HANOVER, NH- The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams competed in their first meet of the 2004 season in strong fashion Sunday afternoon, as the Lyons posted a pair of top six team finishes at the 35th annual Dartmouth Relays in Leverone Field House. The five-time national champion women's team began defense of their title by finishing third among 26 competing teams with 48 points. On the men's side, the Lyons posted 20 points and placed sixth out of 28 scoring teams.

Highlighting the meet was junior Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy), who shattered Wheaton's seven-year record in the high jump. Leaping to an astounding 7' 2 1/2", Olson broke the school's previous mark by a quarter of an inch. Finishing first in the meet by nearly five inches, Olson also exceeded the NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying standard.

Senior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) was also impressive with the meet's top finish in the 400-meter dash. Finishing with a time of 48.67, Benson posted a provisional qualifying mark for the national meet in mid-March. Junior Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and sophomore Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) placed ninth and 11th, respectively in the event. In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Jamaal Rawls-Payton (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) advanced to the finals and in the race finished eighth overall in 8.79.

On the women's side, senior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) tallied 14 points on her own with an individual title in the 400-meter dash and a fourth-place mark in the 60-meter dash. James topped the competition in the 400M event with an NCAA Division III national meet provisional qualifying time of 58.17 and also hit a provisional standard in the 60M race with a time of 7.81. Sister Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) finished eighth in the event in 7.94, but she did manage to record a provisional qualifier in the preliminaries with a time of 7.85.

Aspen James also ran a leg of the 4x200-meter relay team with junior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton), sophomore Lindsey Walker (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) and freshman Alison Amendola (Franklin, MA/Franklin). The foursome placed third overall in 1:47.67. First-year Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) rounded out Wheaton's strong finishes on the track by advancing to the finals in the 60-meter dash. She finished eighth overall with a time of 9.75.

The Lyons were very impressive in the field, spearheaded by Noelle Battista's (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) school record in the pole vault. Vaulting to a height of 12' 4", the sophomore cleared the old mark by more than seven inches. Battista recorded an automatic qualifying height and in the process gave Wheaton 10 points with her top placement. Wheaton later landed three of the top four marks in the high jump, led by freshman Crystal Blamy (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain View). Blamy finished second at 5' 6", while Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) and Harlow placed third and fourth, respectively with jumps of 5' 4 1/4". All three registered provisional qualifying jumps.

Complete Results

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