The NCAA News - News and Features

March 23, 1998

Christopher Newport uses quality to claim III women's indoor track

When Christopher Newport won the 1997 Division III Women's Indoor Track Championships with only four competitors, it may have been viewed as a fluke.

Not anymore.

One year after their surprising victory, the Captains proved that quality wins out over quantity by successfully defending their title March 13-14 at Brandeis.

Christopher Newport registered 31 points to edge Wheaton (Massachusetts), which finished with 28 points.

The 31 points is the lowest total for a champion, and the three-point differential is the smallest margin of victory in the championships' 14-year history.

Binghamton and CCNY shared third-place honors with 18 points each. Buena Vista and Wisconsin-Oshkosh tied for fifth with 16 points apiece.

The title is No. 6 for the Captains, who have finished first or second at eight of the last 11 championships.

"I'm very proud of our kids because when you're the defending champion there's so much pressure," said Christopher Newport coach Vince Brown. "We try not to put pressure on them because we know they put pressure on themselves to do well, and there's a lot of pressure for the other athletes who were going to come after them. And they did."

So, how many athletes contributed points to the Captains' triumph? You guessed it. Four.

Bridgett Cochran and Meshailay Robinson each won individual events, Denita Eason netted a pair of top six finishes, and the Captains' quartet of Eason, Robinson, Jenita Harris and Cochran placed second in the 1,600-meter relay.

Cochran made it two consecutive victories in the 55-meter high hurdles, posting a time of 8.07 seconds to win her fourth career hurdles title. More importantly, Cochran, the two-time defending outdoor 100-meter hurdles champion, contributed 10 points to the team points total.

Robinson joined Cochran in successfully defending her 55-meter dash title, blowing away the field by more than one-tenth of a second. Robinson's triumph gave the Captains seven championships in the event's 14 years.

Eason, a freshman, provided the points that accounted for the Captains' margin of victory as she placed fifth in the 400-meter dash and sixth in the long jump. The 400 placing was worth two points; the long-jump finish was worth one.

While Christopher Newport occupied the team spotlight, Monique Hacker of Binghamton stepped into the individual spotlight.

The defending triple-jump champion, Hacker was successful in her defense in record-breaking fashion. Hacker leaped 12.46 meters (40 feet, 101/2 inches) to surpass the mark set by Brandeis' Eleena Zhelezov in 1995.

Deshawnda Williams of Wheaton (Massachusetts) secured her school's first championship, winning the 400. She then ran the final 400 meters on the squad's winning 1,600-meter relay.

Division III women's indoor track

TEAM RESULTS

1. Chris. Newport, 31; 2. Wheaton (Mass.), 28; 3. (tie) Binghamton and CCNY, 18; 5. (tie) Buena Vista and Wis.-Oshkosh, 16; 7. Hamline, 14; 8. Wis.-La Crosse, 13 1Ž2; 9. Cortland St., 11; 10. (tie) Brandeis, North Central and Ohio Northern, 10.

13. (tie) Chicago, Geneseo St., Ohio Wesleyan, Swarthmore, Washington (Mo.) and Wis.-Platteville, 8; 19. (tie) Hartwick, Montclair St., Neb. Wesleyan and Wilmington (Ohio), 7.

23. (tie) Amherst, Gust. Adolphus, Luther, Medgar Evers, Thiel, Wartburg and Wis.-Stout, 6; 30. (tie) Carleton, Colby, Emory, Gettysburg, Loras, Monmouth (Ill.), Mount Union, St. Mary's (Ind.), Smith and Wis.-River Falls, 4; 40. Springfield, 3.

41. (tie) Haverford, Frostburg St., Lebanon Valley and Wis.-Whitewater, 2; 45. Ithaca, 11Ž2; 46. (tie) Baldwin-Wallace, Benedictine (Ill.), Carnegie Mellon, Mary Washington, Tufts and Western Md., 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

55-meter dash: 1. Meshailay Robinson, Chris. Newport, 7.10; 2. Colleen Myrie, Wheaton (Mass.), 7.23; 3. Latiffa Peeples, Thiel, 7.25; 4. Stacy Davis, St. Mary's (Ind.), 7.30; 5. Camille Ross, Wis.-Whitewater, 7.30; 6. Melessia Jones, Montclair St., 7.40.

400-meter dash: 1. Deshawnda Williams, Wheaton (Mass.), 56.53; 2. Robyn McCarthy, CCNY, 56.87; 3. Tomikka Robinson, Medgar Evers, 57.71; 4. Heather Furrow, Monmouth (Ill.), 57.80; 5. Denita Eason, Chris. Newport, 58.32; 6. Shannon Lakatosh, Baldwin-Wallace, 58.41.

800-meter run: 1. Erin Hipp, Ohio Northern, 2:14.29; 2. Victoria Petrillo, Brandeis, 2:14.35; 3. Trina Steines, Wartburg, 2:15.32; 4. Rachel Milligan, Wis.-Oshkosh, 2:15.43; 5. Shamaine Martin, Wis.-La Crosse, 2:15.97; 6. Caitlin Murphy, Tufts, 2:16.26.

1,500-meter run: 1. Michele Franklin, Cortland St., 4:35.45; 2. Rhaina Echols, Chicago, 4:39.62; 3. Katie Jacobson, Wis.-Stout, 4:40.29; 4. Farrell Burns, Colby, 4:41.45; 5. Eileen McAllister, Washington (Mo.), 4:41.75; 6. Michele Kelly, Cortland St., 4:42.93.

5,000-meter run: 1. Tiffany Ebensperger, Wis.-Oshkosh, 17:16.52; 2. Keri Wells, Wis.-Platteville, 17:22.66; 3. Emily Richard, Washington (Mo.), 17:27.16; 4. Jenny Richey, Loras, 17:31.11; 5. Rachel Mosher, Haverford, 17:31.13; 6. Maureen McGranaghan, Carnegie Mellon, 17:35.51.

55-meter high hurdles: 1. Bridgett Cochran, Chris. Newport, 8.07; 2. Monique Hacker, Binghamton, 8.10; 3. Melessia Jones, Montclair St., 8.11; 4. Kahlilah Jennings, Emory, 8.12; 5. Jennifer Yarnall, Frostburg St., 8.37; 6. Kerry Wilson, Western Md., 8.46.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Wheaton (Mass.) (Angela Mullins, Amy Swanson, Colleen Myrie, Deshawnda Williams), 3:53.01; 2. Chris. Newport, 3:54.35; 3. Neb. Wesleyan, 3:55.90; 4. Smith, 3:57.74; 5. Brandeis, 3:59.08; 6. Springfield, 4:03.59.

High jump: 1. Dawn Putnam-Vinyard, Buena Vista, 1.74 (5-81Ž2); 2. (tie) Nyhla Rothwell, Wilmington (Ohio), and Maria Megnin, Hartwick, 1.69 (5-61Ž2); 4. Beth Castagno, Gettysburg, 1.69 (5-61Ž2); 5. (tie) Heidi Nichols, Ithaca, and Katie Arnes, Wis.-La Crosse, 1.69 (5-61Ž2).

Long jump: 1. Robyn McCarthy, CCNY, 5.71 (18-9); 2. Pristina Jones, North Central, 5.62 (18-51Ž4); 3. Melanie Uhl, Buena Vista, 5.59 (18-41Ž4); 4. Busola Akinwale, Carleton, 5.56 (18-3); 5. Nancy Ntim, North Central, 5.55 (18-21Ž2); 6. Denita Eason, Chris. Newport, 5.47 (17-111Ž2).

Triple jump: 1. Monique Hacker, Binghamton, 12.46 (40-101Ž2) (meet record; old record, 12.43 [40-91Ž2], Eleena Zhelezov, Brandeis, 1995); 2. Desiree Peterkin, Swarthmore, 11.73 (38-6); 3. Nicole Campbell, Amherst, 11.57 (37-111Ž2); 4. Kenya Shipp, Mount Union, 11.55 (37-103Ž4); 5. Kenya Moore, Wis.-Oshkosh, 11.55 (37-103Ž4); 6. Yurissa Mitchell, Mary Washington, 11.54 (37-101Ž2).

Shot put: 1. Misty Bahr, Hamline, 14.21 (46-7 1Ž2); 2. Alison Albrecht, Ohio Wesleyan, 14.13 (46-41Ž4); 3. Jessica Ellis, Luther, 13.73 (45-01Ž2); 4. Sarah Peterson, Wis.-River Falls, 13.40 (43-113Ž4); 5. Ann Musser, Lebanon Valley, 13.19 (43-31Ž4); 6. Amy Traudt, Neb. Wesleyan, 12.98 (42-7).

20-pound weight throw: 1. Patti Franckowiak, Wis.-La Crosse, 16.36 (53-81Ž4); 2. Elizabeth Shope, Geneseo St., 16.19 (53-11Ž2); 3. April Felt, Gust. Adolphus, 16.11 (52-101Ž4); 4. Misty Bahr, Hamline, 15.87 (52-1); 5. Diane Welch, Springfield, 15.79 (51-93Ž4); 6. Elyse Muller, Benedictine (Ill.), 15.70 (51-61Ž4).