Illinois Wesleyan Qualifies Four for
NCAA Division III National Track Meet

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Three women and one man from Illinois Wesleyan University are among the 688 qualifiers for the national NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships, to be held May 25-27 at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill.
Sophomore Rachel Anderson and seniors Melinda Sprague and Melissa Harden will compete in individual events for the women, while sophomore Matt Harden is among the male entrants in the meet.
The student-athletes qualified for the national meet by reaching either the automatic or provisional standards established for each event.

Titan Women Qualifiers

Anderson (Clinton HS), the reigning national indoor 400 champion and the fifth place finisher outdoors last spring, had the lowest Division III 400 meter qualifying time with her run of 55.25 seconds at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet May 6. In the 200, she qualified 14th best in the nation with a time of 24.89.
The prelims of the 200 are at 6:10 p.m. Thurs., May 25 with the finals set for 3:35 p.m. Sat., May 27. The 400 trials are slated for 4:20 p.m. Fri., May 26 and the finals for 2:10 p.m. on Sat., May 27.
Sprague (Ballwin, Mo., Parkway West HS), the two-time CCIW champion in the 3000 steeplechase, qualified 16th with a time of 10:57.2, which is 10 seconds better than her qualifying time of a year ago when she was IWU’s first national qualifier in the event.
Melissa Harden (O'Fallon, Township HS), who won the long jump at the national indoor meet in March, has the 13th best triple jump leading into the national meet with a leap of 38 feet-5 inches in a second place finish at the CCIW meet.
The 3000 steeplechase final is at 6 p.m. on Fri., May 26 and the triple jump is at 11 a.m. on Sat., May 27.

Titan Male Qualifier

Matt Harden (O'Fallon, Township HS), who was sixth in the 2005 outdoor national championships, has qualified this spring in the 200 with the seventh top time nationally at 21.40 seconds, set at the IWU Keck Ecumenical in April.
The 200 trials are at 6:25 p.m. Thurs., May 25) with the finals set for 3:45 on Sat., May 27.

National Meet Team Previews

MEN: Wisconsin-La Crosse, which won the indoor championship in March by a record 47 points, could record a similarly dominating performance outdoors as it seeks to take back the crown it surrendered last spring to Lincoln (Pa.). Three Eagles — Nate Olson (400), Kevin Becker (hammer throw) and Matt Novak (pole vault) — had the best qualifying marks through mid-May in their respective events ... A number of event records may be in jeopardy this year, including in the 400-meter relay. New Jersey City became the first Division III team ever to finish under 40 seconds in that event with its 39.95 time at the Penn Relays last month ... Nick Symmonds of Willamette seeks his third sweep in four years of the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. A win in the 800 would make him only the fourth four-time winner of a championships event, and another sweep would make him the meet’s first seven-time champion.
WOMEN: Wisconsin-Oshkosh is seeking a record seventh outdoor team title, as well as its second sweep of indoor and outdoor titles in three years. Titan senior Robyn Jarocki posted the best Division III mark ever in the shot put (53 feet, 6 1/4 inches) at a home meet May 15 and could close out her career with a total of 11 indoor and outdoor individual championships with a sweep of the three throwing events, though she again faces tough competition from Bates’ Keelin Godsey ... Two teams that made a splash at this year’s indoor meet — Keene State and CCNY — join Williams as the biggest threats to stop the Titans. Distance specialists Breanne Lucy of Keene State and Caroline Cretti of Williams pace their teams’ hopes, while CCNY’s Alecia Watson hopes to complete an indoor-outdoor sweep of the triple jump.

May 23, 2006, contact: Stew Salowitz, salowitz@iwu.edu