NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Wheaton College Claims Seven All-America Honors

The Wheaton College women's track & field team, ranked no.7 overall in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, finished tied for ninth overall at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by North Central College, on Saturday evening at the Al B. Carius Track facility. 

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the team title with 56 points for its ninth national championship in program history. Illinois College finished second with 32 points and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse ranked third with 27 points. The Lyons tied for ninth place overall (16 points) with Mount Union, Buffalo State and Emory. Wheaton posted its ninth top-10 finish in program history at the indoor championships and also made its first appearance inside the top-10 since 2007. Overall in program history (indoors), the Lyons have captured five national championship team titles ('99, '00, '01-'03). 

Junior All-American Ashante Little (Seabrook, N.H./Winnacunnet) turned in Wheaton's top individual performance at nationals with a second place finish in the 400-meter run (55.64-seconds). Little has now earned All-America accolades in the 400-meter run (indoors) twice in her career after placing fifth in last year's indoor national championships. 

Senior All-American Amanda Claflin (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) sprinted to a sixth place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.73-seconds. Claflin garnered her first-career individual All-America honor, indoors or outdoors, by ranking inside the top-8 of the event. 

Senior Samantha Bennett (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) also picked up her first-career All-America distinction with an eighth place performance in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.56. 

In the 4x400-meter relay, Bennett, Claflin, Little and junior All-American Meredith Scannell (San Marino, Calif./San Marino) placed fifth overall with a time of 3:51.63. All four student-athletes earned All-America honors for finishing inside the top-8 while Scannell collected her first-career All-America accolades (indoors) after earning the same honor in the 4x400-meter relay (outdoors) last season. 

Junior Mollie Lane (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) tied for tenth overall in the high jump with a height of 5-feet and 3-inches. 

Wheaton has not had a total of seven or more student-athletes receive All-America honors since 2004 when the Lyons compiled nine All-America selections. The Lyons begin their 2013 outdoor season on Saturday, March 23 at the Bridgewater State University Bears Invitational in Bridgewater, Mass.