Wheaton women in position to defend national championship; Donoghue, Teamey carry Lyons while Greenridge leads men

May 24, 2002

SAINT PAUL, MN- The defending national champion Wheaton College women's track & field team put themselves in great position to capture its second consecutive NCAA Division III outdoor title in day two of the three-day meet held at Macalester College. Following suit from the indoor championship meet, the Lyons once again laid claim to a National Champion in the long jump and an All-American in the pole vault. The men also took great strides this evening, securing a National Champion in the triple jump and an All-American in the 400-meter dash.

Junior Kerry Teamey (Klamath Falls, OR) spearheaded the Wheaton women in the early going with an All-American performance in the pole vault, finishing third overall with a height of 12' 1/2". Teamey bettered the old Macalester Stadium mark as well as the previous meet record. Not to be outdone, teammate Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA) made the most of her outdoor national championship debut in the long jump event. Donoghue, who entered the meet as the fourth seed, exploded in the finals competition with the top placement and personal-best jump of 19' 4". Donoghue exceeded her trials jump by nearly 14 inches, as she finished second in her flight and fifth overall. Between Teamey and Donoghue, the Lyons tallied 16 points, which trailed only the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse in the team standings.

Following a pair of stellar performances on the field, senior Niara Woods (Philadelphia, PA) kicked things off on the track in the trials of the 800-meter run. Woods posted a school record-breaking time of 2:13.38 and in the process advanced to Saturday's finals. She shattered her own mark of 2:14.03, which was set two weeks ago at the All-New England Championship at Northeastern University. Classmate Shimera Daniels (Brentwood, NY), who suffered a hamstring injury during the 4x100-meter relay yesterday, took one attempt in the long jump to finish ninth in her flight and opted to pass in today's 100-meter dash competition. She will focus her attention to tomorrow morning's triple jump event, where she currently holds the longest distance in Division III at 40' 1 1/4".

The remainder of the day for the Lyons featured a handful of athletes advancing to tomorrow's finals, led by sophomore and hometown product Amber James (Woodbury, MN). James bested the field in the 400-meter dash with time of 54.91. She will defend her crown tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Other athletes advancing to the finals included juniors Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA) and Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY) in the 100-meter hurdles. Cullen, who entered the competition seeded 12th overall, took first-place honors in her heat in a time of 14.48, while Kordzeil, who was ranked seventh prior to the meet, finished third in the same heat with a time of 14.59.

On the men's side, senior Rahiem Greenridge (Wyandanch, NY) recorded an outstanding performance in the triple jump, as he successfully defended his outdoor title with a jump of 50' 10 1/4". This distance marked a Division III best for the season and tied the Macalester Stadium record. For Greenridge, this first-place triumph marked an unprecedented seventh national championship (including high jump) over his four-year career. He will look to cap his storied career tomorrow afternoon in the high jump event, where he will do battle with teammate and freshman Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY). Greenridge and Olson are the only two athletes in the competition to have cleared 7' 1" on the season. Also competing today was sophomore Erik Benson (Southbury, CT) in the 400-meter dash. Qualifying for the finals portion of the meet, Benson finished with a time of 48.19.

Last updated on 6/14/02.
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)