Women's track and field hopes for top three finish at Div. III's

In a stunning turn of events, defending National Champion Wheaton College has opted out of the upcoming Div. III New England Championship meet. Wheaton has instead decided to compete in a more rigorous USA Track and Field Open New England meet being held at Harvard on Sunday. Without the Lyons posing an indomitable threat at securing the top spot, Tufts has entered the fray to possibly move up in the standings.

While Williams College is the odds on favorite, the second overall team ranking is now an attainable goal for the squad. The only sticking point is that teams made adjustments to their final rosters based on the presumption of having to work around the Lyons and their strengths. The rosters were due in Wednesday night and it was only after then that coaches learned that Wheaton would not be competing. However, the Jumbos are still in good position to garner a previously unthinkable second place finish.

"People planned their line-ups based on Wheaton being in the meet, so that's a bit frustrating," coach Kristen Morwick said. "But it actually works out for us. We could be 70 to 80 points behind Williams, but we have the potential for a solid second now that Wheaton's not there."

A contributor all season, junior Jessica Trombly boasts the top seed times in three events -- the 55m hurdles, 200, and 400. Trombly's seed time of 8.52 seconds in the 55 is three-tenths of a second faster than Colby's Karima Ummah.

Within the shorter distances, the 600 should prove fruitful for the Jumbos as three people are seeded in the top nine. Sophomore Claudia Clarke is seeded highest at fifth, with junior Emily Bersin right behind in sixth. Fellow junior Katie Higley is filling in at the ninth spot, but has the potential to move up and score points given the caliber of competition at the meet.

"Without Wheaton that's huge for sprints, and Trombly could win three events," Morwick said.

Seeded a full six seconds ahead of the nearest competitor, the 4x400 team should handily win the event as it also strives to meet the National qualifying mark. The 4x200 relay squad has a time of 1:48.21 going in the Championship meet, seeded second to a speedy Mount Holyoke.

There are no Jumbos in either the 800 or 1500 because it was felt that people who could be placed in those events could be better used elsewhere. Higley and sophomore Katie Sheedy both could have been put in the event, but both would have to run huge PRs to score points in the event. Sheedy will be used in the 1000 and both can be used more effectively in the 4x800 relay.

In the distance events, junior Lauren Caputo is set at fourth for the 3000 but could get as high as third with Wheaton gone. The three pentathletes -- freshman Megan Sears, sophomore Melissa Graveley, and junior Amy Spiker -- should all be able to cut into the top eight point scoring positions.

Though Colby and Keene State should provide some competition for the Jumbos, it seems that the squad will have little competition in going for the second spot. The absence of Wheaton is disheartening in that it is a bit of a slap in the face of the Championship meet, but it opens up the meet for the Jumbos.

"I'm proud of the team, everyone who was on the team before has come back stronger and is tougher, and the new people are stepping up really well," Morwick said. "It's just been a smooth transition and we're ready for this weekend."