Lyons take part in Miami Elite Invitational and Solomon Husky Invitational

April 12, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's and women's outdoor track and field teams split themselves up into two different parts of the country Saturday, as the Lyons competed in the Miami Elite Invitational at the University of Miami and the Solomon Husky Invitational at Northeastern University.

Both invites were non-scoring meets, as the Miami competition was held at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Florida, while Northeastern's event took place at Solomon Track in Dedham.

Competing against some world-class athletes at the Miami Elite, Wheaton did not disappoint, as its women's 4x400M relay team sprinted to the fastest Division III time in the nation. Juniors Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) and Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and sophomores Kelly Libert (New Haven, CT/James Hillhouse) and Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) recorded an NCAA Championship automatic qualifying time of 3:47.27, good for fifth fastest among schools.

Four other national meet provisional marks were met, including Ezeigwe's and Thompson's 25.04 and 57.18 finishes in the 200M and 400M dashes, respectively. Freshman Erin Neville (North Providence, RI/La Salle Academy) came in third in the high jump with a provisional standard of 5' 5".

Junior Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) blew away a nine-year-old school record in the 3,000-meter run, as her time of 10:37.99 was nearly 10 seconds faster than the previous program standard. She turned in a fourth-place finish.

Senior Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) took third in the 1,500M run, and junior Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School) and freshman Diana Kornberg (Highland Mills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) each placed eighth in the 800M run and shot put, respectively.

Sophomore Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) was Wheaton's lone male to reach an NCAA Championship provisional qualification, doing so in the 110M hurdles in 14.77.

Freshman Marcus Kohlman (Milton, MA/Milton) produced a fourth-place result in the high jump, as his leap of 6' 4 3/4" tied for the meet's third highest. Junior Kyle Greenidge (Dorchester, MA/Newton North) finished seventh in the triple jump, while sophomore Merzudin Ibric's (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) 400M time of 48.85 was 0.35 seconds shy of a provisional time.

Ibric and Powell also joined sophomore Mark Cimino (Danbury, CT/Danbury) and first-year Mark Williamson (Vienna, VA/James Madison) in the 4x100M relay, as the foursome placed sixth overall and third among institutions.

At Northeastern, junior Christine Moreau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) captured the event title in the 400-meter hurdles, while the men's 4x800-meter relay team was also victorious, as junior Dan Libon (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro), sophomore Miles Souza (Norton, MA/Saint Sebastian's School) and freshmen Colin Fahey (Waltham, MA/Weston) and Natan Levy (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pine Crest School) each ran a leg.

In the 100-meter hurdles, junior Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) placed third, as did Wheaton's 4x400M relay team, which was comprised of Moreau, junior Miriam Ledley (Needham, MA/Needham), sophomore Katie Pratt (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) and freshman Stephany Perkins (Monmouth, ME/Monmouth Academy). Classmate Caleigh Greenwell (Warwick, RI/La Salle Academy) was the team's third Rhode Island native to finish in the top five in an individual event, taking fifth in the hammer throw.

Freshman Raiyan Banaji (Bombay, India/American School of Bombay) led the Lyon men during individual competition with a fifth-place mark in the 100M dash, while junior Brian Dundon (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) turned in a sixth-place showing in the 400M event.

The Lyons head to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Saturday for the Coed Invitational at 12:00 p.m.

Miami Elite Invitational Results

Solomon Husky Invitational Results

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