COLUMBUS, OH – The Williams College Women's Track & Field team will send 10 athletes to the NCAA Championships held this Friday and Saturday at Capital University in Columbus, OH. The Ephs, who won the New England Division III Indoor Championships in a hotly contested meet with rival MIT, will look to have a large team presence across 6 different events.
Sophomore Tanasia Hoffler will lead the Ephs as she has all season. Hoffler, who is the defending NCAA Outdoor Champion in the triple jump, comes into the meet with the top overall seed of 12.20m (40'00.50 ft), a Williams College school record. Hoffler, who is also ranked 8th in the long jump, will team with fellow sophomore Brooke Johnson in the jumping events. Johnson has also hit the NCAA automatic mark in the triple jump with her leap of 11.93m (39'1.75 ft), making her the 3rd ranked competitor at the meet.
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| Annie Dear #2, Chiara Del Piccolo #1 & Leslie Blackshear #3 |
Williams also has two athletes competing in the 5000m. Sophomore Annie Dear is ranked 3rd in the event, having hit an NCAA automatic mark of 17:00.47 at last week's ECAC Championships. Dear's time is the 2nd fastest in Williams' history. Freshman Chiara Del Piccolo has had an outstanding indoor season thus far, winning the New England Division III title at 5000m in 17:22.65. That victory qualified Del Piccolo for the NCAA Championships where she is the 15th ranked competitor and the only freshman qualified for the event. NCAA Cross Country runner-up Jennifer Gossels was also an automatic qualifier in the 5000m when she ran 17:07.77 earlier this December, however, she will forgo competition this weekend due to injury.
Two other first years will also make their NCAA debuts for the Ephs. Amina Avril will compete in Friday's weight throw. Avril comes into the event as the 11th ranked competitor and the only first year thrower. She achieved the second farthest throw in Williams College history when she tossed the weight 17.28m (56'8.50") at this January's Hamilton College Continental Cup.
Jenna Adams is the last individual entry for Williams. Adams, who tied the school record in the pole vault earlier this winter when she cleared 3.65m (11'11.75"), is tied for 14th in the event. Just like Avril and Del Piccolo, Adams is the only freshman qualifier in the pole vault and will look to make some noise in her first NCAA Championships.
The final entry for the Ephs is the distance medley relay. The relay consists of tri-captain Lizzy Danhakl (1200m leg), Maya Harakawa (400m leg), Julieanne Fonanta (800m leg) and Brianne Mirecki (1600m leg). The quartet ran a spectacular time of 11:53.97 at this past week's ECAC Championships. The time was good enough to give them the 10th fastest seed going into the NCAA Championships and is the 6th fastest time in school history.
Women's Entries * *
* NCAA Women's Championship Site
Men's Track & Field Sending Five Athletes
The Williams College Men's Track & Field team will send 5 athletes to the NCAA Championships held this Friday and Saturday at Capital University in Columbus, OH.
After a dramatic runner-up finish against MIT two weeks ago at the New England Division III Championships, the Ephs are primed to bring home some All-Americans from NCAAs.
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| Isaac Nicholson '11 |
Senior Captain Isaac Nicholson is the lone Eph in an individual event. Nicholson was a provisional qualifier in the pentathlon and decathlon as a junior but wasn't ranked high enough either time to gain entry in the meet. This winter, Nicholson won the New England Division III Championships in the pentathlon with a school record setting performance. Nicholson scored 3,539 points earning him a provisional mark and selection for the NCAA Championships. He is currently ranked 7th overall in the field but is less than 100 points from the 3rd ranked competitor. At the New England Championships, Nicholson only set a personal best in the shot put and while he gave strong marks in the 55 hurdles, long jump, high jump and 1000m run, he knows there is more room for improvement!
The Ephs also send the 5th ranked 4x400m relay team to Columbus. The group consisting of Taylor Fitzgerald, Richard Fusco, Chris Fogler and Jabulani Blyden ran the 3rd fastest time in school history when they annihilated their heat at the All-New England Championships on February 26th. In addition to earning a trip to NCAA's on the relay, Blyden, Fitzgerald and Fusco all hit an NCAA provisional mark in the 400m. Though none of their times were fast enough to gain entry into the meet, they were sill one of two schools (North Central Ill being the other) to have 3 or more competitors hit the provisional qualification at 400m. Fogler, who throughout the season competes with Nicholson in the pentathlon, adds depth to the group with his emergence this season. Each relay member has split sub 49 seconds at different points throughout the season and will all look to do so this weekend.
