Wheaton tracksters record several strong marks at Armory Invitational

February 5, 2005

NEW YORK, NY- The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams recorded several strong marks at this weekend's prestigious Armory Collegiate Invitational, as the Lyons continued their successful seasons at the New Balance Track & Field Center. Between the men's and women's teams at the NCAA Division-I dominated non-scoring meet, the Lyons boasted five Division III national meet provisional qualifying performances.

Junior Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) led the women's team in the championship pole vault event, as she was the only Division III entrant in the field. Battista did not disappoint, clearing a Division III provisional qualifying mark and season-best 11' 9 3/4". With her vault, Battista moved up to second place on the national qualifiers list for the NCAA meet to be held at Illinois Wesleyan University in mid-March.

Also in the field, sophomore Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) tied for sixth in the high jump with a provisional mark of 5' 5", while senior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) and freshman Marie Swieta (West Monroe, NY/Altmar-Parish-Williamstown) jumped 5' 3" and 5' 1", respectively.

Wallace also anchored the provisionally-qualifying 4x400-meter relay team, joining senior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) and first-year athletes Julie McLane (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) and Chelsea Nader (Ardmore, PA/Lower Menan) with a time of 3:58.94. The Wheaton foursome finished fourth in their heat.

Rounding out the women's provisional qualifiers was freshman All-America distance runner Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro), who took fifth in her heat in the mile run with a time of 5:05.10. Senior Lindsay Whalen (Dedham, MA/Dedham) was also impressive in the event, posting a personal-best time of 5:20.39. Whalen also nearly broke a seven-year school record in the 1,000-meter run in 3:05.82, just over a half a second off the program mark.

For the men, junior Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) earned a spot on the national qualifying list in the 400-meter dash with a provisional time of 49.32. Sisodia placed third in his heat, while junior Ross Kahill (South Portland, ME/South Portland) and senior Patrick Freytag (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) took eighth and 11th, respectively in the 800M run. Freshman Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) finished 10th in his 3,000M run heat with a time of 8:58.35.

The Lyons will make a return to Boston University next weekend at the Saint Valentine Invitational, with the two-day meet scheduled to begin on Friday, February 11.

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News Headlines.

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Upcoming Schedule

11-Jan Sun Dartmouth Relays 9:00am
16-Jan Fri Sorlien Invitational 1:30pm
23-24-Jan Fri-Sat Terrier Classic 11:00am