Lyons turn in pair of top 15 finishes at 36th New England Championships; Wheaton adds multiple record-breaking performances

February 28, 2004

BOSTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams had a milestone weekend at the 36th annual New England Intercollegiate Championships held at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center, as the Lyons not only turned in a pair of top 15 finishes but also added several school record-breaking performances and multiple NCAA Division III national meet qualifying standards. The women finished 10th among the 31-team field with 29 points, while the men placed 14th overall in a pool of 30 teams with 21 points.

Preparing to defend their five-time national championship run, the women put themselves in great position to do just that two weekends from now at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Sophomore Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) topped the competition in the 55-meter dash with a national meet provisional qualifying time of 7.23. Junior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) improved upon her position on the 400-meter dash entry list, registering a provisional qualifying time of 58.18, which was tops in her section final and fifth fastest overall. Senior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) also moved up the list in the mile run, finishing third in her section with a provisional time of 5:05.84.

Wheaton's distance events had the strongest impact on the Lyons' national qualifying list, spearheaded by the performance of sophomore Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) in the 5,000-meter run. Leith shattered her own school record and in the process qualified provisionally for the national championship in 17:48.05, good enough for sixth overall. Just as impressive was the Blue & White's distance medley relay team, as Allegra, Spence, junior Erin O'Brien (North Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) and freshman Alison Amendola (Franklin, MA/Franklin) turned in an impressive time of 12:09.93 in only their second race of the season. Finishing first in their section and eighth overall, the Lyons not only missed the Wheaton record by 58-hundredths of a second but also finished nearly 29 seconds faster than their time of 12:38.43 two weekends ago.

The Lyons rounded out their outstanding meet with a national meet automatic and provisional qualifying standard in the pole vault and high jump events, respectively. Sophomore Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) continued to shine in the pole vault, as she was a half an inch short of her 12' 6" performance set earlier this season. Nevertheless, Battista finished second overall to a Northeastern athlete with an automatic qualifying vault of 12' 5 1/2". In the high jump, junior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) paced the Lyons with a provisional jump of 5' 5" and sixth-place finish. Freshmen Crystal Blamy (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain Regional) and Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) each cleared 5' 3".

The men were equally as impressive and made a serious push to contend for a top five finish at the national championship meet. Senior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) had an unbelievable showing in the 400-meter dash, capturing the championship with a blazing time of 47.08. His performance marked a national meet automatic qualifying standard with the nation's third fastest time and in the process broke his own school mark of 48.50. Had he been running at the USATF National Championship the same day at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Benson would have advanced to tomorrow's championship round.

Benson wasn't quite finished, as he then anchored Wheaton's 4x400-meter relay team to a third-place finish and provisional qualifying time of 3:16.33. Joined by juniors Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and Patrick Freytag (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) and sophomore Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover), the foursome recorded the nation's third fastest time and also shattered Wheaton's seven-year old record that had stood since 1997.

Junior Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME/South Portland) stuck with the theme of breaking school records and moving into the nation's elite times in the 5,000-meter run. Pyle erupted to a fourth-place finish with a national meet automatic qualifying time of 14:30.33, one of only four automatic standards in the country. He blew away his old personal-best time by nearly 11 seconds. Sisodia also turned in a solid meet, finishing second in his preliminary heat of the 400-meter dash in 49.71 and sixth in his 55M semifinal heat in 6.66. Walker placed fifth in his 400M heat in 50.31. Junior Jamaal Rawls-Payton (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) made it to the semifinals of the 55-meter hurdles and nearly advanced to the finals with a time of 7.91.

The men's and women's track and field teams will have one final meet of preparation before the national championships, as the Lyons are scheduled to compete at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships on Friday, March 5 at Bowdoin College.

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