Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (15-11, 6-6) Falls to Springfield in NEWMAC Tourney, Set for ECAC's

The Wheaton College men's basketball team missed reaching the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal round for the first time in the six-year history of the league, as the Lyons fell to Springfield College, 94-80 in Tuesday's opening round action in Springfield. Despite not advancing to the semifinals, Wheaton earned its second consecutive berth into the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament, where the Lyons will travel to Colby-Sawyer College this Wednesday for a quarterfinal round game at 7:00 p.m.

At Springfield, Wheaton trailed throughout the game's entirety, but managed to keep things close for most of the first half. The Pride extended their lead out to eight points on several occasions, including a 37-29 advantage with just under three minutes to play. The Lyons however used a 7-2 run capped by a Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) three-point bucket with nine ticks on the clock to lead the visitors into the break trailing 39-36. In the second half, the Pride held a tenuous 45-43 lead with 16:35 left when a basket sparked a decisive 17-6 run over the next 6:26 to extend the lead to 62-49 with 10:09 to play. Springfield, which led by as many as 16 points (79-63), hit 15-of-17 free throw attempts in the final 2:15. The Pride shot a season-high .667 (28-42 FG) from the floor and hit an impressive 35-of-44 (.795) from the free throw line. Vega poured in 27 points (8-10 FT) in 40 minutes of action, while senior Scott Mahan (Bridgewater, MA/Cardinal Spellman) had 19 points. Senior Frankie Whall (Roslindale, MA/Cheshire Academy) contributed 16 points (7-12 FG) and a team-best six rebounds in the loss.

Men's Swimming Secures Highest Placement at NEWMAC Meet, Breaks Eight Records

The Wheaton College men's swimming and diving team secured its highest placement ever at a NEWMAC Championship this weekend, as the Lyons finished fifth overall with 551 points and in the process broke an impressive eight school records at Springfield's Art Linkletter Natatorium. Wheaton has moved up two placements in the last two seasons over the six-year history of the conference.

Wheaton used several solid freestyle performances during day one of the three-day meet, including posting three record-breaking times in the 50- and 500-yard free and 200-yard free relay. Highlighting the day was freshman Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering), who became the first Wheaton male swimmer to capture an individual title. Shattering his own school record in the 50 free in 21.33, Roberts not only garnered NEWMAC All-Conference recognition but also posted a NCAA Division III national meet provisional qualifying standard. Later that night, Roberts swam a time trial in 21.11, which set a NEWMAC Championship record. The official entry list will be posted this Thursday.

Roberts also led off the 200-yard freestyle relay, joining senior captains Chris Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area) and Patrick Sagui (Westwood, MA/Westwood) and junior Chris Klinkow (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline) in setting a new Wheaton record of 1:28.06, good enough for fifth place overall. Hurley also shattered an individual school mark in the preliminaries of the 500-yard free with a time of 4:53.76. His finals time placed him sixth overall.

Three additional school records fell on Saturday, including two relays. The 800-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Chris Hurley, Klinkow, Roberts and freshman Matt Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area), collected Wheaton's highest relay finish of the meet with a third-place mark and school-best time of 7:18.13. Also making history was the 200-yard medley relay team, as the foursome finished fourth overall in 1:38.32. Matt Hurley rounded out an impressive day by shattering the old 400-yard individual medley record with a time of 4:32.88 in the preliminaries.

On Sunday, Wheaton's noted relay team of the Hurley brothers, Klinkow and Roberts shattered a record that had stood since March 3, 1996, as the foursome captured the school's fastest time in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a finish of 3:16.41. Breaking the mark by nearly five seconds, the Lyons placed fifth overall. Roberts secured his second individual Wheaton record of the meet and the Blue & White's eighth overall in the 100-yard freestyle in 48.06. In addition to placing fifth in the 100 free, Roberts finished third overall in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:46.66.

Men's and Women's Track Teams Turn in Pair of Top 15 Marks at All New England Meet

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams had a milestone weekend at the 36th annual New England Intercollegiate Championships held at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center, as the Lyons not only turned in a pair of top 15 finishes but also added several school record-breaking performances and multiple NCAA Division III national meet qualifying standards. The women finished 10th among the 31-team field with 29 points, while the men placed 14th overall in a pool of 30 teams with 21 points.

Preparing to defend their five-time national championship run, the women put themselves in great position to do just that two weekends from now at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Sophomore Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) topped the competition in the 55-meter dash with a national meet provisional qualifying time of 7.23. Junior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) improved upon her position on the 400-meter dash entry list, registering a provisional qualifying time of 58.18, which was tops in her section final and fifth fastest overall. Senior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) also moved up the list in the mile run, finishing third in her section with a provisional time of 5:05.84.

Wheaton's distance events had the strongest impact on the Lyons' national qualifying list, spearheaded by the performance of sophomore Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) in the 5,000-meter run. Leith shattered her own school record and in the process qualified provisionally for the national championship in 17:48.05, good enough for sixth overall. Just as impressive was the Blue & White's distance medley relay team, as Allegra, Spence and juniors Erin O'Brien (North Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) and Lindsay Whalen (Dedham, MA/Dedham) turned in an impressive time of 12:09.93 in only their second race of the season. Finishing first in their section and eighth overall, the Lyons not only missed the Wheaton record by 58-hundredths of a second but also finished nearly 29 seconds faster than their time of 12:38.43 two weekends ago.

The Lyons rounded out their outstanding meet with a national meet automatic and provisional qualifying standard in the pole vault and high jump events, respectively. Sophomore Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) continued to shine in the pole vault, as she was a half an inch short of her 12' 6" performance set earlier this season. Nevertheless, Battista finished second overall to a Northeastern athlete with an automatic qualifying vault of 12' 5 1/2". In the high jump, junior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) paced the Lyons with a provisional jump of 5' 5" and sixth-place finish. Freshmen Crystal Blamy (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain Regional) and Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) each cleared 5' 3".

The men were equally as impressive and made a serious push to contend for a top five finish at the national championship meet. Senior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) had an unbelievable showing in the 400-meter dash, capturing the championship with a blazing time of 47.08. His performance marked a national meet automatic qualifying standard with the nation's third fastest time and in the process broke his own school mark of 48.50. Had he been running at the USATF National Championship the same day at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Benson would have advanced to Sunday's championship round.

Benson wasn't quite finished, as he then anchored Wheaton's 4x400-meter relay team to a third-place finish and provisional qualifying time of 3:16.33. Joined by juniors Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and Patrick Freytag (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) and sophomore Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover), the foursome recorded the nation's third fastest time and also shattered Wheaton's seven-year old record that had stood since 1997.

Junior Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME/South Portland) stuck with the theme of breaking school records and moving into the nation's elite times in the 5,000-meter run. Pyle erupted to a fourth-place finish with a national meet automatic qualifying time of 14:30.33, one of only four automatic standards in the country. He blew away his old personal-best time by nearly 11 seconds. Sisodia also turned in a solid meet, finishing second in his preliminary heat of the 400-meter dash in 49.71 and sixth in his 55M semifinal heat in 6.66. Walker placed fifth in his 400M heat in 50.31. Junior Jamaal Rawls-Payton (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) made it to the semifinals of the 55-meter hurdles and nearly advanced to the finals with a time of 7.91.

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