WHEATON WOMEN ON TRACK TO REPEAT AS NATIONAL CHAMPS
The Wheaton College women’s track and field team heads to the Cleveland, Ohio-area this week with the potential to make New England college sports history at the NCAA Division III national championships
The Wheaton College women's track and field team heads to the Cleveland, Ohio-area this week with the potential to make New England college sports history at the NCAA Division III national championships.
The Wheaton Lyons, this year's reigning national champions in indoor track and field, are considered strong contenders to capture the outdoor national championships, which will be held at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, May 20-22.
If the Lyons win, the team would be the first in New England to win both championships in a single season. Last year, the women won second place in both the indoor and outdoor nationals.
The championship meet begins Thursday, May 20, and will finish at approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 22. Baldwin-Wallace College is located 10 miles southwest of the center of Cleveland.
Ten Wheaton athletes have earned automatic qualifications to compete in 12 events at the national championships. In addition, several other women hold provisional qualifications and may also get the chance to compete for a national title.
The Wheaton team's feats are particularly remarkable given the relative youth of the track program. Wheaton established women's track and field just five years ago, and have quickly moved to national prominence. During that time, Head Coach Paul Souza has guided 23 All-Americans and 44 NCAA national meet qualifiers. He was named Northeast Coach of the Year and his conference has twice named him coach of the year.
Earlier this spring, Wheaton won the New England NCAA Division III championship meet at Springfield College on May 1 with 156 points. Springfield earned 96; Willams, 74.
At Springfield, Wheaton junior Deshawnda Williams recorded the fastest 400-meter time (55.45) in the country this year. She also posted the nation’s third fastest performance (24:71) in the 200-meter . At the nationals this weekend, she is qualified for the 200M and 400M dashes, and the 4X100M and 4X400M relays.
The team also turned in a notable performance at the prestigious Penn Relays, which includes Division I and II schools. Wheaton’s 4X400M-relay team scored what was then the fastest time in the country (3:52:44). It is now the second fastest time.
Also at the Penn Relays, freshman Kerry Teamey won the pole vault with the highest vault (12’) in the country this year. She improved upon her national record last weekend with a 12'2" vault that won her first place at the All-New Englands meet held at Tufts University.
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