Thompson draws pair of All-America laurels, helps 4x400M relay to third as women's NCAA Track and Field Championship comes to a close

May 24, 2008

OSHKOSH, WI- Wheaton College track and field sophomore Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) doubled her career All-America total on Saturday, helping the 4x400-meter relay quartet to third place and finishing among the top eight in the 400-meter dash during the final day of competition at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship in the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh's Titan Stadium.

The Lyons finished tied for 38th among 83 scoring teams with seven points, matching Amherst College, Middlebury College, the State University of New York at Geneseo and Willamette University. Illinois Wesleyan University and the University of Wisconsin at River Falls tied for the team title with 35 points apiece.

Thompson, juniors Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) and Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and sophomore Kelly Libert (New Haven, CT/James Hillhouse) each ran legs on the 4x400-meter relay, as they finished third out of nine teams in a time of 3:46.31, just 0.59 seconds shy of the winning foursome. Wheaton's quartet trimmed 3.55 ticks off its trials time, as the Lyons had recorded the eighth-best showing among the nine teams that qualified for the finals race. During the last women's event of the championship, Ezeigwe earned her seventh All-America accolade, Thompson drew her fourth, Jules recorded her third, and Libert claimed her initial honor. The four eclipsed their best time this spring by 0.96 ticks.

During the 400-meter dash, Thompson earned her first All-America honor in an individual event, finishing eighth in a time of 57.48. Needing to come in among the top eight to corral an All-America nod, she passed the ninth-place runner just before the finish line. Thompson advanced to the finals by virtue of placing fourth in a six-athlete trials heat on Friday, as she was the last of nine competitors to qualify for the finals.

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