Women’s Track & Field Shines In Season Debut At Southern Maine Invitational

The Wheaton College women's track and field team opened up its 2012-13 season at the University of Southern Maine Invitational in the Costello Field House on Saturday afternoon. The invitational, which featured seven schools and several unattached runners, was a non-scoring meet.

Senior captain Amanda Claflin (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke)highlighted the Lyons efforts on the afternoon taking first place in the 55-meter dash, the long jump and 4x400-meter relay. Claflin posted a time of 7.34-seconds in the finals of the 55-meter dash and a distance of 17-feet and 6-inches in the long jump. Claflin quailified for the finals of the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.20-seconds in the prelims.

In the 4x400-meter relay, Claflin, who ran the lead leg of the event, joined up with teammates Faye Hayley (Marblehead, Mass./Bishop Fenwick), Aubrie Soucy (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) and Ashante Little (Seabrook, N.H./Winnacunnet) for a total time of 4:14.66.

The quartet edged out Wheaton's "B" team of Amber Spencer (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley), Emily Rand (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth),Amanda Peterson (Gray New Gloucester, Maine/Gray New Gloucester) and Francesca Flynn (Farmington, Conn./Northwest Catholic) by almost a full second (4:17.61).

Little earned first place honors in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.33-seconds while Spencer also claimed first place in the triple jump with a leap of 34-feet and 7-inches.

Senior Sylvia Okoye (Stanhope, N.J./Pope John XXIII Regional) placed in the top-three in a pair of throwing events. Okoye finished first overall in the weight throw with a distance of 50-feet and 4-inches and third in the shot put (35-feet and 11-inches).

Junior Meredith Scannell (San Marino, Calif./San Marino) placed second overall in the 1,000-meter run in three minutes and 15.82-seconds.

Freshman Jordan Silva (North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown) turned in an impressive performance in his first career collegiate race finishing second overall, first among all collegiate athletes, in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:46.63.

In the mile, classmate Dagmara Sobczyk (Farmington, Conn./Farmington) posted a third place showing with a time of 5:51.70.

Junior Mollie Lane (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) rounded out the list of top performances on the afternoon placing third overall in the long jump with a leap of 15-feet and 9-inches.

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Yale Invitational at 9 a.m.