Men's and Women's Track & Field Teams Compete Twice, Send Eight Athletes to NCAAs

The Wheaton College men's and women's track & field teams each finished among the top 20 when the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship ended on March 7 before sending eight athletes to the two-day NCAA Championship at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, where the women tied for 12th upon the meet's completion on Saturday. Three Lyons earned All-America honors by placing among the top eight in an event.

At the ECAC meet, Wheaton's women took seventh place out of 51 scoring teams, while the men tied for 19th among 50 squads. Sophomore Erin Neville (North Providence, RI/La Salle Academy) won the high jump with an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying mark, while the 4×400-meter relay quartet also met a provisional standard, as senior Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls), junior Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver), sophomore Laurenmaria Smith (Providence, RI/Hope) and freshman Didine Jusme (Providence, RI/Classical) placed third. For the men, sophomore Mark Williamson (Vienna, VA/James Madison) won the 400M while meeting a provisional time.

The Lyon women tied for 12th out of 68 teams at the NCAA meet, while the men tied for 66th among 74 squads. Neville and freshman Mickey Jusme (Providence, RI/Classical) were third in the high and triple jumps, respectively, as Neville earned her second All-America honor and Jusme her first. Wheaton's women had at least one field athlete record an All-America finish for the 11th straight indoor national championship, including for the sixth consecutive year in the high jump. Freshman Cailean Robinson (Newton, MA/Phillips Exeter Academy) was eighth in the 55-meter dash, as he drew his initial All-America finish. During Friday's trials, Robinson broke a school record by finishing in 6.39. Also competing at the NCAAs were freshman Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) in the high jump, Mickey Jusme in the long jump, and Jules, Didine Jusme, Smith and freshman Lauren Cardarelli (Cranston, RI/La Salle Academy) in the 4×400M relay.