Men's and Women's Track & Field Athletes Both Push Teams to Top-Five League Finishes

The Wheaton College men's and women's outdoor track & field teams recorded six NCAA Championship standards, four event wins, a trio of meet records and 14 all-league finishes during Saturday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship at Mount Holyoke College. The defending-champion women placed third, while the men were fifth. To earn all-conference honors, athletes needed to finish first or second in their respective events.

Freshman Mickey Jusme (Providence, RI/Classical) had a hand in a pair of NCAA provisional marks, one meet record and an event victory. Jusme's provisional-qualifying triple jump of 39′ 3 3/4″ bested the competition and a nine-year-old meet record. Jusme also took second in the long jump with a provisional distance of 17′ 11 1/2″. Classmate Tope Waheed (East Providence, RI/East Providence) smashed her own school record in the hammer throw, as her provisional heave of 159′ 1″ was nearly 16 feet farther than her previous best and good for second place. The 4×400-meter relay team accounted for the squad's other provisional mark, as senior Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls), junior Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver), sophomore Laurenmaria Smith (Providence, RI/Hope) and freshman Lauren Cardarelli (Cranston, RI/La Salle Academy) sided for the win. Wheaton had six others earn all-league accolades and second-place marks, including Smith in the 100M, Thompson in the 400M, seniors Christine Moreau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) and Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) in the 400M hurdles and 10,000M, respectively, sophomore Erin Neville (North Providence, RI/La Salle Academy) in the high jump and freshman Didine Jusme (Providence, RI/Classical) in the 100M hurdles.

Sophomore Mark Williamson (Vienna, VA/James Madison) highlighted the meet on the men's side, playing a role in two NCAA provisional standards, a pair of all-league awards, one meet record and an event win. Williamson won the 400M in 48.22, which was a meet record and provisional qualifying time. Williamson also teamed up with senior Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale), junior Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) and freshman Cailean Robinson (Newton, MA/Phillips Exeter Academy) during the 4×100M relay. Finishing 0.13 ticks short of an eight-year-old school record, the quartet took second in a provisional time of 41.52, a mere 0.01 seconds off the winning mark. Junior Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) topped the 110M hurdles competition, Robinson and Wright placed second and third in the 100M, respectively, while freshman Marcus Dennis (Hyde Park, MA/Thayer Academy) turned in a fifth-place showing in the long jump.