2006 season preview

December 22, 2005

NORTON, MA- Three seasons removed from their most recent NCAA title, the Wheaton College women's track and field team will use a mix of returning veterans and the most talent-laden freshman class of 12th-year head coach Paul Souza's tenure, as the Lyons look to make a move back to the top of the Division III indoor and outdoor ranks.

"I think we'll compete for a national championship," said Souza. "We're going to go to the national meet with as many top performers as anybody else in the country, and it's going to come down to who's better on that day. If we don't win the whole thing, we should definitely be top three."

Marc Mangiacotti, who has helped Souza recruit a good deal of Wheaton's new talent, returns for his second season as the program's top assistant. The coaching staff is rounded out by seventh-year assistants Al Bashian, Paul Carr and Jeff Robbins. As in seasons past, the Lyons will compete chiefly against Division I schools.

Wheaton's women, who won five indoor national titles from 1999-2003 and a trio of outdoor crowns from 2001-03, have taken home the last seven New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) outdoor championships, and Souza expects that streak to continue while the Lyons contend for NCAA titles during the winter and spring.

Fourteen freshmen are among the Blue and White's 27-member squad, which also includes eight sophomores, four juniors and senior quad-captain Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional). This season is the second as a captain for Leith, who holds the school's indoor and outdoor records in the 5,000-meter run.

Juniors Katelyn Gannon (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsbury), Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) and Katelyn Teixeira (Seekonk, MA/Seekonk) will serve as first-time captains, while Jennifer Ziello (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) rounds out the Class of 2007.

After earning All-America status in the high jump during the 2005 indoor season, Harlow was named NEWMAC Athlete of the Year at the outdoor meet after qualifying for all-conference citations with top-two finishes in each the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and 4x100-meter relay. In 2004, she was an outdoor All-American in the high jump. Teixeira earned an all-conference selection after a javelin victory at the 2004 NEWMAC Championship.

"We look toward our upperclassmen and All-Americans to give the team leadership and give us the experience we desperately need for such a young team," stated Souza, the 2002 United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) National Coach of the Year and six-time USTCA Division III New England Coach of the Year.

Sophomores Julie McLane (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) and Chelsea Nader (Ardmore, PA/Lower Merion) qualified for All-America status in the 4x400-meter relay during the 2005 indoor season, while McLane completed a stellar freshman season with a NEWMAC Rookie-of-the-Year award and all-conference selection in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles, as well as the 4x100-meter relay. Nader was also a member of the 4x100-meter relay team.

Classmate Christy Bell (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville Area) earned an all-conference nod in the javelin, while Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) was named an All-American during her freshman year as a member of the Wheaton cross country squad.

Abbe Bosk (Narberth, PA/Springside), Jessie Buonaccorsi (Shutesbury, MA/Amherst Regional), Cassandra Migani (Brooklyn, CT/Norwich Free Academy) and Joell Whitley (Magnolia, NJ/Triton Regional) round out the sophomore class. This year is Bosk's first as a collegian, while Whitley returns to action after missing most of the 2005 indoor season and all of the outdoor campaign with injury.

During Souza's stint at Wheaton, 34 women have been named All-Americans, but he considers first-year athlete Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) the top freshman recruit his team has ever attracted. Souza drew a comparison between Ezeigwe and 17-time national champion Amber James '04, the 2002 USTCA Division III National Track Athlete of the Year. James drew All-America status 24 times and still holds eight school records.

Freshmen Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School), Megan O'Sadnick (Evergreen, CO/Evergreen), Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and Lauren Reddy (Walnut Creek, CA/Carondelet) also ran for Wheaton's cross country team, while Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and Samira Sanders (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) hail from one of the top high school programs in the country.

Christine Moreau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) and Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) finished first and third, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles at last year's Rhode Island indoor high school championship. New Englanders Celeste Karpow (Wilton, CT/Wilton), Bridget Manning (Wolfeboro, NH/Kingswood Regional), Ashley Mills (Hingham, MA/Hingham) and Danica Peterson (Westwood, MA/Westwood) join Emily Piuggi (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) in completing the incoming class.

"It's a very diverse team," commented Souza. "Because it's Division III, we get a wide range of student-athletes. The majority of the athletes that we get are intrinsically motivated because they're not here on scholarship. They're doing it because they want to do it, and in my mind, I think that's a better situation."

Wheaton's indoor season begins January 8 at the Dartmouth College Relays, and the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship will occur on March 10-11 at Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The NEWMAC Championship takes place April 29 at MIT before the NCAA Outdoor Championship will be held on May 25-27 at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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News Headlines.

Wheaton reorganizes track and field staff, Souza and Mangiacotti named co-head coaches (more)

Three Wheaton track and field athletes earn national academic honors, both men's and women's squads draw accolades from USTFCCCA (more)

Brousseau earns first academic all-district honor of career (more)

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