Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles

The Eagles of UW-La Crosse had been falling behind team title contenders UW-Oshkosh and Wartburg, but they gained some big momentum in the second heat. Jaime Ludwigson became the first DIII hurdler to break 14 seconds this year, while teammate Claire Gordee took third in the heat and earned the final time qualifying spot in the finals. In the following heat, Wartburg’s Tashina McAllister could not keep pace with a breakthrough race from Sierra DeLeon of Kenyon. DeLeon’s time of 14.05 would have been a division leading mark had it come before Ludwigson’s stellar effort.

 

Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles

The top three seeds all won their heats comfortably, starting with Ryan-Lopez Jordan of Marietta. Coast Guard’s Adam Scalesse followed in his footsteps, similarly winning by a wide margin. However, Luke Campbell saved the best for last as he raced out to a division-leading 13.91. His wind-legal time is good enough for seventh on the DIII all-time lists. Fourth seeded Terrence Gibson did not start, leaving a three-tenths of a second gap between the top three and the rest of the field. In the race for finals, UW-La Crosse’s woes continued, as Joe DeRosier and Daniel Otto both missed out by less than one tenth of a second.

 

Women’s 400 Meter Dash

The top four seeds all finished in the top four, so the only real surprise was that defending champ Ashante Little of Wheaton (Mass.)—who ran a 53 second split yesterday—lost her heat to Lexie Sondgeroth of UW-Whitewater. Though Little officially comes in as the fourth seed, her time of 54.86 was nearly a second faster than that of the other heat winners, Hulerie McGuffie of UMass Boston and Heather Ingraham of Vassar. Little also will be happy to have teammate Meredith Scannell joining her in the finals as the fifth seed.

 

Men’s 400 Meter Dash

Both the defending indoor champion—Tom Sippie of Lynchburg—and the defending outdoor champion—Kevin Curbelo of Whittier—failed to advance, leaving the door wide open for Chancise Watkins of La Verne. Watkins was the top qualifier in the 200 yesterday, and his 47.02 clocking makes him the top qualifier in the 400 as well. Further back in the field, expect a heated battle in the finals between Chase Swisher of Mount Union and Ross Denman of UW-La Crosse as their teams fight for every point in a tight battle for the title.

 

Women’s 100 Meter Dash

Top seeded Meg Heafy of UW-La Crosse crashed and burned out of the second heat, while Wartburg’s Libbey Schubert won the following heat, undoing most of the gains the Eagles made in the team standings after the 100 Meter Hurdles. The other contenders all advanced, though Naomi Bates of Amherst and indoor 60 Meter Dash champ Nia Joiner of Illinois Wesleyan cut it close.

 

Men’s 100 Meter Dash

The top three seeds all won their heats, and seven of the top eight advanced. The only surprise finalist is an important one, though, as sophomore Naji Allen of UW-Oshkosh finished second in his heat and will hope to propel the Titans back into podium contention after a shaky first day.

 

Women’s 800 Meter Run

The top three of Christy Cazzola, Kylee Verhasselt, and Maggie Shelton remain the class of the field, with each dominating their respective heat. Taylor Moore of Wartburg took the first heat out fast in an effort to give her and teammate Haddie Vawter a better chance to qualify. Ultimately, they would finish fourth and fifth in the heat, but Moore advances as the final time qualifier. She will hope to score some big points and minimize the advantage that Oshkosh will get from their best event.

 

Men’s 800 Meter Run

Ninth seeded McKena Ramos looked smooth as ever, unleashing a strong kick to set the stage for his big double tomorrow. Fellow freshmen Deko Ricketts of Wash U and Paul Messana of Pomona-Pitzer also qualified with fierce kicks of their own and will be looking to steal the spotlight from a tired Ramos tomorrow afternoon. Top seeded Jacob Ellis of Bowdoin made it look easy—going out in 60 before closing in a 52 to win his heat—but Andrew Carey was the most impressive of the day as he cruised to his first ever sub-1:50 clocking.