Pair of Wheaton freshmen automatically qualify for NCAAs during All New England Championship

February 25, 2006

BOSTON, MA- A school record and a pair of automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Championship highlighted the Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams' competition in the All New England Championship at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center this weekend. The Lyon women came in 13th out of 33 teams with 19.33 points, while the Blue and White men were 16th of 33 with 12 points.

Freshman Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) eclipsed automatic qualifying times for the NCAA Championship in the 400-meter dash during each day of the meet, first running the trials in 56.26 before completing the finals in second place at 55.99. Through last weekend's competition, only one other Division III athlete had automatically qualified in the 400M, and each of Ezeigwe's times were faster than that athlete's.

A pair of Wheaton relay teams notched provisional qualification status for the NCAA Championship. The 4x400-meter relay quartet of Ezeigwe and first-year counterparts Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School), Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and Celeste Karpow (Wilton, CT/Wilton) combined for a time of 3:54.18, which was 0.38 seconds off an automatic qualifying berth. Calderwood and Karpow joined senior Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) and sophomore Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) to finish the distance medley relay in 12:12.89, just 3.54 seconds off a four-year-old school record.

Junior Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) advanced to the semifinals of the 55-meter hurdles, and her time of 8.62 was 0.03 ticks off an NCAA provisional time. Harlow then tied for second in the high jump at 5' 5 3/4". Calderwood recorded a personal best of 2:18.38 in the 800-meter run, while sophomore Joell Whitley (Magnolia, NJ/Triton Regional) was 0.08 seconds off qualifying for the 55M finals.

On the men's side, freshman Jonathan Cunha (Lexington, MA/Lexington) met automatic qualifying status for the NCAA Championship thanks to a fourth-place finish during the 400-meter dash in 47.81. Senior Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) and freshman Victor Martinez (Exeter, NH/Phillips Exeter Academy) each surpassed NCAA provisional standards and set personal college bests of 48.21 and 49.02, respectively.

Cunha, Martinez and Sisodia joined first-year Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale) for a school-record time of 3:16.20 in the 4x400-meter relay, eclipsing a two-year-old record by 0.13 seconds and placing 2.64 seconds out of first. Sisodia ran the first leg for the record-breaking team in 2004 and ran the final leg today as his quartet met NCAA provisional status, finishing just 1.1 seconds off automatic qualification.

Wright qualified for the finals of the 55-meter dash, where he was the top Division III finisher in 6.53, while Cunha qualified for the semifinals for the 55-meter hurdles by tying his personal record of 7.80, just 0.01 ticks off a six-year-old program standard. Freshman Albi Skenderi (Glendale, NY/Grover Cleveland) set a personal best in the 55M hurdles, while senior Ross Kahill (South Portland, ME/South Portland) broke his personal record during the 800-meter run competition.

The Lyons' final regular season event takes place on Friday, as Wheaton's men's and women's teams take part in the Last Chance Qualifier at Yale University at 6:00 p.m.

Complete Results

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