Division III Women's Rowing Championship

Dates and site: The championship will be May 28-29 at the CSUS Aquatic Center in Sacramento, California.

Field: Six teams, one from Pool A and five from Pools B and C. Each team is required to field two boats of eight rowers and a coxswain. The championship provides for one event (I Eights and II Eights together), covering a 2,000-meter course.

Selection date: May 11.

2003 team champion: Colby.

Top team contenders: Smith, Ithaca, Williams, Worcester Polytechnic and Coast Guard make up the top five teams in a recent USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: Top-ranked Smith, five-time New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference champion, is led by 2003 second-team all-Americans Anna Crary and Katherine Seston, who serve as captains for the crew. Meanwhile, conference rival Coast Guard is seeking its second straight championship appearance behind Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association all-American Eileen Brown, and all-conference Ashley Schilling ... Fourth-ranked Worcester Polytechnic is seeking its first championship appearance, while Williams is looking to repeat as a titlist. The Ephs captured the inaugural Division III crown in 2002 ... Only second-ranked Ithaca and 2003 defending champion Colby have appeared in all three championships.

Division III Men's Track and Field Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be May 27-29 at Millikin.

Field: A total of 344 athletes will compete in the championship. Athletes qualify by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

Selection date: The spots remaining in the field after the automatic qualifiers are entered will be filled from the descending-order list of provisional qualifiers May 24.

2003 team champion: Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Top team contenders: Wisconsin-La Crosse, Lincoln (Pennsylvania), Nebraska Wesleyan, Willamette.

Championships notes: Andrew Rock's 45.23 victory in the 400-meter dash at the Mt. Sac Relays gave the six-time indoor and outdoor titlist from Wisconsin-La Crosse the fourth-fastest time in that event in the world this year. Rock and his teammates, including defending pole vault champion Hans Schmidt, have dominated Division III track and field for the past three years and appear set to do so again this spring ... Lincoln (Pennsylvania) has finished first or second at 16 of the last 19 outdoor championships, and is coming off a runner-up finish at the indoor championships in March ... Nebraska Wesleyan's Bret Blake seeks his first outdoor title at 100 meters after winning two straight 60-meter dash titles indoors ... Willamette is showing strength in distance events, behind Nick Symmonds, who swept last year's 800- and 1,500-meter runs, and Jacob Stout, who has posted automatic-qualifying times in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run

Division III Women's Track and Field Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be May 27-29 at Millikin.

Field: A total of 344 athletes will compete in the championships. Athletes qualify by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

Selection date: The spots remaining in the field after the automatic qualifiers are entered will be filled from the descending-order list of provisional qualifiers May 24.

2003 team champion: Wheaton (Massachusetts).

Top team contenders: Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wheaton (Massachusetts), The College of New Jersey, Calvin, Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Championships notes: Wisconsin-Oshkosh dominated the indoor championships in March and will be tough to beat outdoors, as senior Liz Woodworth seeks her third straight 800-meter run title and Robyn Jarocki is ranked among leaders in all three throwing events. Woodworth, who posted the best time ever by a Division III student-athlete in the 800 in late April (at the Drake Relays), also has posted a record time in the 1,500 (at the Mt. Sac Relays) and potentially could square off against defending champ Missy Buttry in that race (a much-anticipated showdown that did not occur at the indoor championships) ... Amber James' place already is secure in the NCAA record book, but the Wheaton (Massachusetts) sprinter will seek her fourth straight 400-meter and third straight 200-meter victories, and lead her team in search of its fourth straight team title ... After Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wheaton, it's tough to predict top-five contenders, as several teams could make the cut. Judging from performances through May 11, The College of New Jersey appears to be in the hunt with good marks from sprinter Tiffany Clark and in the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays.