Lyon tracksters capture several event victories at Tufts Invitational

January 13, 2007

MEDFORD, MA- The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams continued the young indoor season at the Tufts University Invitational Saturday, as the Lyons captured several event victories at the Gantcher Family Sports & Convocation Center. Wheaton's successful outing also included NCAA national meet provisional qualifying marks and school records.

Senior All-American Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) and sophomore All-American Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale) turned in the Blue and White's top performances. Harlow helped the Lyons to three event triumphs, winning both the 55-meter hurdles and high jump while running a leg on the top 4x200-meter relay team. Wright was the top finisher in the 55- and 200-meter dashes, as his 55M time was both a school record and a national championship provisional qualifying mark.

Harlow's time of 8.59 in the 55M hurdles was just 0.03 seconds shy of a national provisional qualifying standard, while her high jump marked the second successive week of winning the event, as last weekend's leap of 5' 8" leads all of Division III. Joining Harlow on the 4x200M relay quartet that finished in 1:45.70 were sophomores Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) and Christine Moreau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln), and freshman Kamia Smith (Cincinnati, OH/Cincinnati County Day School).

Wheaton's top 4x400-meter relay team also came out on top, recording an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:58.55, as Ezeigwe and Smith sided with sophomore Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and freshman Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver). The foursome defeated its closest competition by 10.27 seconds. Jules also took second in the 600-meter dash, recording a personal-best time of 1:38.97, while Thompson was the runner-up finisher in the 200M dash with a time of 26.76.

Sophomore Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School) highlighted Wheaton's distance runners, as she placed second in the 1,000-meter run with a school-record time of 3:02.06, which was 0.15 seconds faster than her old school mark set last February. Rounding out the team's second-place finishers was sophomore Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) in the long jump. She also took third in the 55M hurdles.

On the men's side, Wright's 55M dash time of 6.48 bested his school standard by 0.01 seconds, as this weekend marked the second straight weekend where he defeated his previous Wheaton record by one-hundredth of a second. Wright then went out and won the 200-meter race in 22.43, defeating the next competitor by 0.17 seconds.

Also victorious was Wheaton's 4x200-meter relay squad, as senior Thomas Simmons (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) and sophomores Philip Kiley (Medfield, MA/Medfield), Donnel Matheson (Brooklyn, NY/Poly Prep Country Day School) and Albi Skenderi (Glendale, NY/Grover Cleveland) posted a time of 1:35.24, which was 0.96 seconds ahead of second place.

Another strong finish came from freshman Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy), who took third in the 600-meter run at 1:22.68. Running the event for the first time ever, Ibric was 1.82 seconds shy of a nine-year-old school record. Classmate Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) was third in the 55-meter hurdles in 7.85, falling 0.06 seconds short of the school mark set in 2000.

The Wheaton teams head to Rhode Island next weekend for the Sorlien Invitational. The University of Rhode Island meet is scheduled for Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

Complete Results

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News Headlines

Wheaton to recognize anniversary teams during Homecoming Saturday (more)

Former great Harlow wins high jump at USATF Club Championship (more)

Five Wheaton tracksters, both programs earn national academic accolades (more)

Upcoming Schedule

10-Jan Dartmouth Relays 9:00am
15-Jan Sorlien Invitational 12:00pm
23-Jan Wheaton Invitational 9:00am