No.10 Women's Track & Field Finishes 19th Overall At All-New England Championships

The Wheaton College women's track and field team, ranked no.10 overall in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), placed 19th out of 36 teams at the All-New England Championships, hosted by Boston University, on Saturday evening. 

The Lyons finished ahead of two programs from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), four NCAA Division I programs and three NCAA Division II teams with nine points over the two day event. The University of Connecticut won the meet with 149.33 points, Providence College was second overall with 54 points and The College of the Holy Cross ranked third overall with a score of 51.33 points. 

Senior Samantha Bennett (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) placed fourth overall in the 800-meter finals and also rewrote her own school record in the event with a time of 2:13.37. Bennett broke the program record - previously held by eight-time All-American Niara Woods '02 - in the prelims on Friday night with a time of 2:13.74. By placing in the top-8 of the finals, Bennett earned All-New England accolades. 

In the 4x400-meter relay, Bennett teamed up with senior All-American Amanda Claflin (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) and junior All-Americans Ashante Little (Seabrook, N.H./Winnacunnet) and Meredith Scannell (San Marino, Calif./San Marino) to claim All-New England honors with a fifth place finish in 3:49.18. The Lyons, who were the only non-Division I team to finish in the top-5, sprinted to a season-best mark and bettered their Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifying time. 

Junior Mollie Lane (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) cleared a height of 5-feet and 5-inches to place 12th overall (on attempts) in the high jump. 

In the 60-meter dash, Claflin ranked 14th overall with a time of 7.85 seconds. 

Wheaton will return to action on March 1-2 at the ECAC Championships in New York, N.Y. at the New York City Armory with both dates scheduled to start at 10 a.m.