Women's track highlights Sorlien Invitational with third-place showing

January 20, 2007

KINGSTON, RI- The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams continued their indoor seasons on Saturday at the Sorlien Invitational in the University of Rhode Island's Mackal Field House, where the Lyon women placed third with 89 points as the only Division III squad among a 10-team field otherwise comprised of Division I and II schools. Wheaton's men were seventh out of 11 with 23 points.

Two Wheaton athletes also met NCAA Championship provisional qualifying standards during the meet, which was won on the men's side by the University of Connecticut and its 206.33 points and by the Rhode Island women, who had 194 points. Wheaton's men were merely five points behind sixth-place Stonehill College and six points shy of fifth-place Central Connecticut State University.

The Lyon women compiled their third-place point total despite being entered in only 12 of the 17 scoring events. Senior All-American Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) and sophomore All-American Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) each met national meet provisional standards, with Harlow doing so twice - by winning the high jump with a height of 5' 7" and taking second in the 55M hurdles in a time of 8.51 - while Ezeigwe won the 400-meter dash in 57.73. Ezeigwe bettered the second-place finisher by 1.99 seconds, while Harlow was 0.01 ticks back in the 55M hurdles.

Junior Joell Whitley (Magnolia, NJ/Triton Regional) bested the long jump field, as her 16' 6 1/2" leap was 6 1/4" longer than the next finisher. In the 500-meter run, freshman Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) took third in 1:17.68, finishing just 0.06 seconds out of second, while sophomore Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) placed fourth. Wheaton's 4x400-meter relay team of Ezeigwe, sophomore Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School) and freshmen Amy LaPere (Westerly, RI/Westerly) and Kamia Smith (Cincinnati, OH/Cincinnati Country Day School) was third.

Senior Katelyn Teixeira (Seekonk, MA/Seekonk) and freshman Courtney Opalenik (Greenfield, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) tied for fourth in the pole vault, while sophomore Danica Peterson (Westwood, MA/Westwood) placed fourth in the high jump. Three Lyons also scored in the triple jump.

On the men's side, freshman Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) turned in Wheaton's best showing with a second-place finish in the 500-meter run, clocking in at 1:05.19. His time was just 0.11 seconds behind the winning runner and 0.23 ticks off a nine-year-old school record. Sophomore All-American Jonathan Cunha (Lexington, MA/Lexington) placed fourth in the 500M.

Sophomore All-American Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale) placed sixth in the 55-meter dash, as his time of 6.52 was just 0.04 seconds off the school record he set last weekend. Freshman Mark Cimino (Danbury, CT/Danbury) was sixth in the 200-meter run in 23.17, as the second- and seventh-place finishers were separated by 0.50 ticks. In the 55-meter hurdles, freshman Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) qualified for the finals, where he turned in a sixth-place showing.

Wheaton's 4x400-meter relay team, which was comprised of Powell, Wright and freshmen Andrew Brunhofer (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and Stephen Wakely (Woodstock, CT/Woodstock Academy), also scored. Sophomore Donnel Matheson (Brooklyn, NY/Poly Prep Country Day School) came within 0.16 seconds of scoring in the 500M, and junior Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) was 0.22 ticks short in the 800M.

The Blue and White teams return to action next Saturday at the Wesleyan University Invitational.

Complete Results

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Upcoming Schedule

11-Jan Sun Dartmouth Relays 9:00am
16-Jan Fri Sorlien Invitational 12:00pm
23-24-Jan Fri-Sat Terrier Classic 11:00am