Wheaton tracksters among best at ECAC Division III Championships; Women capture team title and men place third overall

May 17, 2002

SPRINGFIELD, MA- The Wheaton College women's track and field team continued its winning ways Friday afternoon by capturing the team crown at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championships held at Springfield College's Blake Track.

The Lyons defended their team championship from a year ago with 109 points, which was 42 points better than the second place competitor. The men also turned in an outstanding performance, as Wheaton placed third overall with 57 points. Host Springfield claimed the team title with 82 points and Williams finished second with 77 points.

Scoring four first-place finishes for the women was senior Shimera Daniels (Brentwood, NY) in the long jump, sophomore Amber James (Woodbury, MN) in the 200-meter dash and a pair of first-year athletes in Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA) and Kirsten Larsen (Hampden, MA) in the triple jump and javelin, respectively. In the process, James and Larsen each broke school marks while posting NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying standards. James finished the 200M event in a blazing time of 24.02 seconds, while Larsen shattered her own record with a heave of 135' 5".

Donoghue also recorded an automatic qualifying mark in the triple jump at 39' 8 1/2", while Daniels qualified provisionally in the long jump at 18' 8 1/2". In other events, James and Daniels placed third and fourth, respectively in the 100-meter dash in a provisional time of 12.11 seconds, while Donoghue placed fourth in the 200M event with a provisional finish of 24.86 seconds. Other provisional qualifiers were senior Niara Woods (Philadelphia, PA) with a second place mark in the 800-meter run, juniors Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY) and Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA) in the 100-meter high hurdles and Kordzeil in the 400-meter low hurdles, freshman Katherine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA) in the high jump and the 4x400-meter relay team. Kordzeil finished second overall in both events.

On the men's side, the Lyons captured three individual championships, including senior Rahiem Greenridge (Wyandanch, NY) in the triple jump, sophomore Erik Benson (Southbury, CT) in the 400-meter dash and freshman Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY) in the high jump. Greenridge and Olson each met NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying marks in their respective events. Greenridge outdistanced his next closest competitor by more than four feet in the triple jump, as he posted an impressive mark of 50' 2 1/2". Olson cleared 6' 11 3/4" in the high jump, while Greenridge finished second at 6' 10 3/4". Benson met a provisional qualifying time of 48.52 seconds in the 400M.

Other strong performances came from a trio of sophomores in Tyrone McClain (New Haven, CT), Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME) and Peter Cahalane (North Andover, MA). McClain placed second in the 100-meter dash in 10.99 seconds and sixth in the long jump, while Pyle finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run and Cahalane sixth overall in the 1,500-meter run.

For complete individual results of the ECAC Division III Championships at Springfield, go to http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage.nsf/47c355ae56a0e3d2852564f20051f42b/15772c9b37819f3a85256bbb004f178f/$FILE/Results.htm.

Last updated on 5/22/02.
Send questions about this page to Scott Dietz or contact Wheaton College.

News Headlines

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

Weekly Lyon Update: Men's and Women's Track & Field (more)

Eight women earn All-America honors, Wheaton takes 23rd at NCAAs (more)