Women’s Track & Field Places 6th Overall At Snowflake Classic

The Wheaton College women's track and field team finished sixth overall out of 23 teams with 54 points at the Snowflake Classic, hosted by Tufts University, on Saturday evening.

Tufts won its own invitational with 124 points ahead of Boston College (80 points) and Northeastern University (71 points). Worcester State University scored 66.50 points to earn fourth place honors while Harvard University rounded out the top-5 with 57 points.

Senior Sylvia Okoye (Stanhope, N.J./Pope John XXIII Regional)ranked in the top-10 in three events and set one school record to highlight the Lyons' efforts. Okoye shattered a 14-year-old school record in the discus with a toss of 134-feet to finish fourth overall in the event behind three student-athletes from NCAA Division I programs. Amini Onowho '02 held the previous school record mark in the discus for Wheaton at 103-feet and 8-inches. Okoye also placed seventh in the hammer throw with a distance of 147-feet and 7-inches and ninth in the shot put (38-feet, 3.50-inches).

The Lyons also had a strong showing in the relay events claiming first place finishes in the 4x100 and the 4x800 to go along with a runner-up spot in the 4x400.

Freshman Amanda Peterson (Gray New Gloucester, Maine/Gray New Gloucester), junior All-American Ashante Little (Seabrook, N.H./Winnacunnet), senior All-American Amanda Claflin (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) and freshman Francesca Flynn (Farmington, Conn./Northwest Catholic) clocked a time of 48.10-seconds in the 4x100-meter relay.

In the 4x800-meter relay, Little, junior All-American Meredith Scannell (San Marino, Calif./San Marino), freshman Dagmara Sobczyk(Farmington, Conn./Farmington) and senior All-American Samantha Bennett (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) topped the rest of the field by more than a minute with a time of 9:49.50.

Flynn, Claflin, junior Amber Spencer (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and freshman Faye Haley (Marblehead, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) posted a time of 4:11.82 in the 4x400-meter relay for second place overall ahead of Tufts (4:15.39), UMass Boston (4:17.52) and Bridgewater State (4:18.90).

In their respective individual events, Scannell placed second overall in the 400-meter run with a time of 57.71-seconds. Bennett was sixth overall in the 1,500-meter run in 4:44.72 and Little checked in at eighth overall in the 100-meter hurdles (18.67-seconds).

Claflin finished ahead of Flynn and Spencer in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.63-seconds for fourth place overall. Flynn was 14^th overall in 27.02-seconds while Spencer came in at 15^th overall with a time of 27.04-seconds.

In the 5,000-meter run, freshman Jordan Silva (North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown) ranked seventh overall in 18:20.49. SophomoreSonrisa O'Toole (Stockbridge, Mass./Monument Mountain) finished 15^th overall in 19:00.37.

Junior Mollie Lane (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) placed 11^th overall in the long jump with a leap of 15-feet and 2-inches and 16^th overall in the triple jump with a mark of 32-feet and 2.75-inches.

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, April 6 at the Roadrunner Invitational in Mahwah, N.J. on the campus of Ramapo College.