Six Wheaton Student-Athletes Named to 2002 NEWMAC All-Academic Team

Six Wheaton College student-athletes have been named to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic (NEWMAC) All-Academic team for the spring of 2002. Out of the ten member schools, there were 150 student-athletes to receive this honor.

Honorees must follow a certain criteria to qualify for such an award, including having a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better upon completion of the 2001 fall semester, attaining at least a sophomore year standing and competing as a starter or key reserve.

Wheaton's women's outdoor track and field led the pack with three recipients, including sophomores Jessica Martin (Lake Region, ME), Kim Spence (Dover, NH) and Christina Zerbini (Wethersfield, CT). Rounding out the list is senior Lucy Campbell (Anson, ME) of softball, senior Noah Hill (Templeton, MA) of men's outdoor track and field and sophomore Anna Cochrane (Westwood, MA) of women's lacrosse.

Spence helped lead the women's track and field squad to its second consecutive NCAA Division III Championship, as she qualified for the national competition in the 400-meter hurdle event. Despite not advancing to the finals portion of the meet, she finished the race with a solid time of 64.56 seconds.

Martin competed mostly in the pole vault and long jump events for the Lyons, while Zerbini had stints with the 100-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles and triple jump. Hill, who was a four-year member of the cross country team, competed in the 800-meter run, 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run in assisting Wheaton to its best finish ever at the national championship meet.

Campbell, who garnered second team honors on the 2002 Verizon College Division All-District I Softball team, played in 186 straight games at the first base position over her four-year career. She helped lead the Lyons to the top seed and host of the New England Regional Tournament, where Wheaton completed its season with a 31-9 record. Starting in 39 of the 40 games, Campbell batted .315 for the nationally-ranked Lyons with 22 runs scored and 13 RBI.

Cochrane saw a starting defensive role in 17 of Wheaton's 18 contests, where she was among the team leaders in draw controls. The Lyons posted an overall record of 10-8 and advanced to the semifinal round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament for the second consecutive year.

Spring sports sponsored by the NEWMAC include: baseball, women's crew, men's and women's lacrosse, softball, men's tennis and men's and women's track & field.