Men's and Women's Track & Field Athletes Break Five School Records at Regional Meet

The Wheaton College men's and women's outdoor track & field teams saw athletes break five school records and notch five qualifying times for the NCAA Championship over the weekend at the two-day All New England Championship, which came to an end on Saturday at the University of Massachusetts. The men tied for 11th out of 41 scoring squads, turning in their best finish since an 11th-place showing in 2004. In a meet featuring the region's top Division I, II and III teams, Wheaton's men matched Williams College, the winner of last weekend's NCAA Division III New England meet, and Division I Boston University. The Lyon women tied for 29th out of 36 squads.

The men's 4×100-meter relay squad automatically qualified for NCAAs while winning its race and breaking an eight-year-old school record. Senior Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale), juniors Mark Cimino (Danbury, CT/Danbury) and Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) and freshman Cailean Robinson (Newton, MA/Phillips Exeter Academy) each ran legs. During the 200M, Wright took third. Junior Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) had a hand in a pair of program marks, including breaking his own record in the 110M hurdles. Powell was second in the race while provisionally qualifying for NCAAs. During the 4×400M relay, Powell ran leadoff for a quartet that eclipsed a 12-year-old Wheaton standard and reached NCAA provisional status. Joining Powell during the sixth-place finish were Ibric, sophomore Mark Williamson (Vienna, VA/James Madison) and freshman Kyle Ricci (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken). The Lyons' 4×800M relay foursome felled another program mark, as sophomores Colin Fahey (Waltham, MA/Weston) and Nick Kacher (Waltham, MA/Waltham) and freshmen Jason Browne (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) and Dylan Treivush (Beverly Hills, CA/Harvard-Westlake School) all competed.

On the women's side, Wheaton's 4×800M relay team shattered a 12-year-old school record by nearly 10 seconds, as senior Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School), junior Katie Pratt (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) and freshmen Savannah Geasey (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth) and Kimberly Nash (Tempe, AZ/McClintock) combined for the finish. Three freshmen ran for the 4×100M relay quartet, which provisionally qualified for NCAAs, as Lauren Cardarelli (Cranston, RI/La Salle Academy), Didine Jusme (Providence, RI/Classical) and Mickey Jusme (Providence, RI/Classical) joined sophomore Laurenmaria Smith (Providence, RI/Hope). Cardarelli and Smith played a role in the 4×400M relay squad placing seventh and also provisionally qualifying, combining with seniors Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) and Christine Moreau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln). Mickey Jusme also scored for the Lyons in the long jump, taking eighth.