NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships 2014

Women's Sprint Preview: NCAA D3 Champs

May 20, 2014 by Scott Rodilitz

WOMEN'S SPRINTS PREVIEW:

Women’s 100 Meter Dash:
With only one returning All-American in the field, this race is wide open. National indoor 60 meter dash champion Nia Joiner of Illinois Wesleyan was undefeated in the 60 meter dash, but she has not been the same outdoors and just barely made the field of 22 with her 12.15 clocking. Indoor runner-up Abigail Davis of Central College comes in as the seventh seed and will be looking to dip under 12 seconds for the first time, but it would be a surprise if she cracks the top three. The third place finisher indoors, Mallory Burnham of St. Thomas, comes in as the second seed and should be considered the slight favorite. She has run 12.01 seconds or faster in all four of her 100 meter races this season, and this consistency should serve her well against the relatively inexperienced field.

Meg Heafy of UW-La Crosse enters as the top seed after blazing to an 11.80 victory at the WIAC championships. The runner-up in that race, Carly Fehler of UW-Eau Claire, comes in as the third seed as a result of her 11.86 clocking. Despite the fast times, it is hard to consider either the favorite given that neither has performed quite at that level in any other race this year.

Given the absence of a clear favorite, look for established veterans Naomi Bates of Amherst, Libby Schubert of Wartburg, or Monique Anderson of Texas Lutheran to step up. The fourth-seeded Bates finished only sixth in the 60 meter dash indoors, but she comes in as the top seed in the 200 and the long jump and has run 11.93 for 100 meters. Schubert is the fifth seed with a time of 11.94 and beat both Bates and Fehler in the indoor 200. The twelfth seeded Anderson is the only returning All-American in the field, and the senior has been an All-American in every outdoor season so far.

Predictions: Burnham, Schubert, Bates

Full Field Below: (For many athletes, I included a wind-neutral time using conversion charts)

1	Meg Heafy	SO	Wis.-La Crosse	11.80	12.13 is her second fastest
2	Mallory Burnham	SR	St. Thomas	11.84	3rd seed in 100H
3	Carly Fehler	JR	Wis.-Eau Claire	11.86	12.19 is her second fastest
4	Naomi Bates	SR	Amherst	11.93	Top seed in 200 and LJ
5	Libbey Schubert	SR	Wartburg	11.94	Second in the indoor 200
6	Miasia Hillman	JR	Alfred	11.99	First nationals
7	Abigail Davis	SO	Central College	12.00	12.06 no wind
8	Karen Blake	FR	Amherst	12.01	12.12 no wind
9	Jess Huber	SO	Plattsburgh St.	12.03	12.16 no wind
10	Anna Dambacher	SO	Fredonia St.	12.03	12.16 no wind
11	Debora Adjibaba	JR	Emory	12.03	12.17 no wind
12	Monique Anderson	SR	Texas Lutheran	12.06	12.21 no wind
13	Camille Coklow	SO	Mount Holyoke	12.07	12.23 no wind
14	Danisha Higgs	SR	Albright	12.08	12.08 no wind
15	Alexis Baldwin	FR	Texas-Tyler	12.08	12.22 no wind
16	Becklyn Hunter	SO	Wis.-Oshkosh	12.10	12.29 no wind
17	Miranda Rorer	SO	North Central	12.11	12.14 no wind
18	Sierra DeLeon	SR	Kenyon	12.11	12.18 no wind
19	Alexis Harrison	SO	Tufts	12.13	12.30 no wind
20	Nia Joiner	SO	Illinois Wes	12.15	12.30 no wind
21	Tiffany Davis	SR	Denison	12.15	12.35 no wind
22	Allanah Whitehall	SO	Puget Sound	12.15	12.31 no wind

Women’s 200 Meter Dash:
The top three performances this season all came from NEICAAA’s, where Naomi Bates of Amherst bested Ashante Little of Wheaton (Mass.) and Annie Lynch of Williams with a time of 24.03. According to the results, they ran those times into a 2.9 m/s headwind, though given the massive personal bests for every athlete in that race, I am skeptical of those wind readings. Little opted out of the 200 in favor of the 400 and 400H, leaving Bates and Lynch clearly atop the entry list. They should both be considered contenders, though perhaps not the clear favorites that the seed times would imply.

In addition to Little opting out, indoor 200 meter champion Shailah Williams of Rowan did not declare. As a result, Libbey Schubert of Wartburg deserves to be considered the favorite. She was the runner-up indoors and has been consistently excellent in everything from the 100 to the 400.

The top seed in the 100, Meg Heafy of UW-La Crosse, and the top seed in the 400, Hulerie McGuffie of UMass Boston, come in ranked ninth and tenth respectively. Assuming all goes well in their primary events, they could also be dangerous here. I expect both to make finals, but a top three finish would be a surprise.

WIAC champion and fourth seed Lexie Sondgeroth of UW-Whitewater has the fastest qualifying time of the six WIAC competitors in this event. After a disappointing indoor nationals meet, Sondgeroth is seeded to score eighteen points across three events for her podium-contending Warhawks, so she will be hoping to do some damage here.

Predictions: Schubert, Sondgeroth, Bates

Full Field Below: (For many athletes, I included a wind-neutral time using conversion charts)

1	Naomi Bates	SR	Amherst	24.03	Sixth in the 200 indoors
2	Annie Lynch	SR	Williams	24.14	Beat Bates at NESCAC's
3	Libbey Schubert	SR	Wartburg	24.25	Second in the 200 indoors
4	Lexie Sondgeroth	JR	Wis.-Whitewater	24.34	Fifth in the 200 indoors
5	Jess Huber	SO	Plattsburgh St.	24.43	Ninth seed in the 100
6	Monique Anderson	SR	Texas Lutheran	24.45	Seventh in the 200 indoors
7	Anna Dambacher	SO	Fredonia St.	24.50	Tenth seed in the 100
8	Carly Fehler	JR	Wis.-Eau Claire	24.54	Fourth at WIACs
9	Meg Heafy	SO	Wis.-La Crosse	24.57	Seventh at WIACs
10	Hulerie McGuffie	SO	UMass Boston	24.57	Top seed in the 400
11	Alex Gregory	FR	Greenville	24.59
12	Tiffany Davis	SR	Denison	24.66	Third in the 200 indoors
13	Sierra DeLeon	SR	Kenyon	24.68	Seeded fifth in the 100H
14	Chimdiofuma Eze-Echesi	SR	Illinois College	24.70	Sixteenth in the 200 indoors
15	Becklyn Hunter	SO	Wis.-Oshkosh	24.71	Second at WIAC's
16	Jaime Ludwigson	JR	Wis.-La Crosse	24.77	Third at WIACs
17	Mary Kate Mullen	SR	Rhodes	24.77
18	Jessie Reineck	SO	Wis.-Eau Claire	24.84	Sixth at WIAC's
19	Karen Blake	FR	Amherst	24.88	Beat Lynch at New England's
20	Abigail Davis	SO	Central College	24.89	Fifteenth in the 200 indoors
21	Briana Gardner	SO	Monmouth (Ill.)	24.91
22	Melanie Winters	SO	Baldwin Wallace	24.93

Women’s 400 Meter Dash:
Seven of the All-Americans from indoor will return to face off at outdoor nationals, headlined by defending indoor and outdoor champion Ashante Little. A ten time All-American, Little is the favorite to repeat despite coming in as only the third seed.

Top seeded Hulerie McGuffie of UMass Boston will hope to flip the script after a close second place finish indoors. McGuffie won the fast heat but came up two tenths short of Little’s prior performance. The last time the two faced off, a 200 at the DIII New England Championships, Little took home the victory by a scant .03 second margin, setting the stage for a thrilling showdown this weekend.

Separating the two favorites on the entry lists is Vassar’s Heather Ingraham, who will be looking to make a name for herself in her first nationals appearance. Ingraham faced off against Little in the final qualifying weekend and came up nearly two seconds short, so she will have her work cut out for her if she wants to contend for a top three finish.

Fourth seeded Lexie Sondgeroth of UW-La Crosse is a multiple time All-American in the shorter sprints but is poised to impress in her first appearance in the open 400. Cross-state rival and WIAC champ Jenna Halvorson of UW-La Crosse was fourth indoors and will be looking to score some important points for the Eagles. If you are looking for a dark horse, Meredith Scannell, Little’s teammate from Wheaton (Mass.), finished third indoors but has struggled so far this outdoor season and comes in seeded eighteenth.

Predictions: Little, McGuffie, Halvorson

Full Field Below:

1	Hulerie McGuffie	SO	UMass Boston	55.14	Indoor runner-up
2	Heather Ingraham	JR	Vassar	55.42	Second fastest time is 57.07
3	Ashante Little	SR	Wheaton (Ma.)	55.47	Defending indoor and outdoor champ
4	Lexie Sondgeroth	JR	Wis.-Whitewater	55.48	First open 400 at nationals
5	Christine Ajinjeru	SR	Grinnell	55.49	13th indoors
6	Jenna Halvorson	SR	Wis.-La Crosse	55.54	4th indoors
7	Chimdiofuma Eze-Echesi	SR	Illinois College	55.91	16th in the 200 indoors
8	Courtney Reese	JR	Mount Union	56.04	20th last year
9	Sadie Yanckello	JR	Rhodes	56.04	12th indoors, also in 400H
10	Electra Korn	JR	Emory	56.04	6th indoors
11	Amy Viti	SO	Misericordia	56.06	14th at ECAC's
12	Alease Kinney	SO	Roanoke	56.13
13	Patti Laufenberg	SR	Carthage	56.19	7th indoors
14	Cheyenne Mangold	SR	Wash & Jeff	56.21	5th last year
15	Haley Gabor	SR	Westminster	56.35
16	Courtney Fregeau	SR	Bethel (Minn.)	56.43	8th indoors
17	Nicosia Henry	SR	Montclair St	56.53
18	Meredith Scannell	SR	Wheaton (Ma.)	56.55	4th at ECAC's
19	Claire Elliott	JR	Wis.-La Crosse	56.61	2nd at WIAC's
20	Sasa Vann	SO	Buffalo State	56.67	5th at ECAC's
21	Hanna Tarleton	FR	Claremont-Mudd	56.85
22	Jessie Reineck	SO	Wis.-Eau Claire	56.91	3rd at WIAC's

Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles:
The top three finishers in the 60 hurdles indoors all come in with the same seed time of 14.12. Tashina McAllister, a senior from Wartburg, won the indoor title by seven hundredths over Mallory Burnham of St. Thomas (Minn.), who was another seven hundredths ahead of Jaime Ludwigson of UW-La Crosse. McAllister finished fifth last year and is the top returner, but she has generally had more competitive success in the 400 meter hurdles. McAllister will have to contend with the speed of both Burnham and Ludwigson. Burnham is the second seed in the 100 meter dash while Ludwigson is an eight-time All-American in events ranging from the 60H to the 200 meter dash.

Though those three are all strong contenders, the division-leading performance of 14.08 comes from Christy Deininger of Worcester State. Deininger has not made a national final in three tries, but she recently took on a field at ECAC’s that included five other national qualifiers in the 100H and won by nearly half a second. Assuming she finally punches her ticket to the finals, she will be a real threat.

Showing an impressive amount of depth, four qualifiers hail from the state of Ohio, led by fifth seed Sierra DeLeon of Kenyon. DeLeon has run 14.17 this year but could not pull of the victory at the DIII Ohio State Championships, losing to Melanie Winters of Baldwin Wallace.

Keep an eye on the only freshman in the field, Dallas Edge of Linfield. She comes in as the ninth seed but has won seven of her eight 100H races in college, including six straight.

Predictions: McAllister, Deininger, Edge

Full Field Below:

1	Christy Deininger	SR	Worcester State	14.08	Won ECAC's by a lot
2	Tashina McAllister	SR	Wartburg	14.12	Indoor 60h champ, fifth last year
3	Mallory Burnham	SR	St. Thomas	14.12	2nd indoors
4	Jaime Ludwigson	JR	Wis.-La Crosse	14.12	3rd indoors
5	Sierra DeLeon	SR	Kenyon	14.17	2nd at Ohio State Meet
6	Jacqueline Brew	SR	MIT	14.17	3rd at ECAC's
7	Melanie Winters	SO	Baldwin Wallace	14.22	Won Ohio State Meet
8	Madison Renfro	SO	North Central	14.25	5th indoors
9	Dallas Edge	FR	Linfield	14.27	Only freshman in the field
10	Claire Gordee	SO	Wis.-La Crosse	14.32
11	Sara Johnson	SO	Ohio Wesleyan	14.35	5th at Ohio State Meet
12	Morgan Monroe	SR	Emory	14.35	8th indoors
13	Eliza Lowe	SO	Grove City	14.35	6th at ECAC's
14	Jamie Thompson	SR	Rowan	14.41	6th indoors, 6th last year, fifth at ECAC's
15	Ashton Steckelberg	SO	Neb Wesleyan	14.42	11th in the 60h indoors
16	Bayley Fleshner	JR	Simpson (Iowa)	14.43
17	Jaclyn Konopka	SR	MIT	14.49	2nd at ECAC's
18	Victoria Goodenough	SR	Ursinus	14.53	8th last year
19	Abbey Gray	JR	Otterbein	14.53	3rd at Ohio State Meet
20	Jocelyn Redlinski	SR	North Central	14.53	Also entered in the Hep
21	Katherine Cavanaugh	SO	Gettysburg	14.55
22	Hilari Norris	SO	Misericordia	14.56	Fourth at ECAC's

Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles:
In what promises to be the premier event of the meet, the two all-time leading performers in Division III history will face off: Ashante Little of Wheaton (Mass.) and Jana Hieber of Tufts. Separated in space by only 40 miles and in time by only two hundredths of a second, the two seniors have surprisingly not raced each other in the 400H since their freshman year, when Hieber owned a 3-1 record over Little.

Since then, Hieber has brought home two fourth place finishes in the 400H and three All-American honors in the pentathlon. Her consistent improvement would have paid off with a new division record of 58.58 seconds had Little not broken the old record two weeks earlier.

After spending two years focusing on the 400 and the high hurdles, Little returned to the 400H with a vengeance. She set a division record of 58.56 in only her second 400H race since her freshman year, nearly five seconds faster than the times she was running back then. The two faced off last weekend in the 400 at ECAC’s, and Little—the defending 400 meter champion—unsurprisingly dominated. With hurdles in their path, it should be quite the race between the two, with a national title and in all likelihood a division record on the line.

Not to be forgotten, the sixth fastest all-time performer and defending champ Heather Gearity of Montclair State has been steadily improving this season and will be looking to once again step up on the big stage. Last year’s runner-up, Tashina McAllister of Wartburg, will likewise be attempting to mix it up with the leading duo. Both defeated Hieber last year in the finals, but it will be much more difficult to repeat that feat this year.

Predictions: Hieber, Little, Gearity

Full Field Below:

1	Ashante Little	SR	Wheaton (Ma)	58.56	Defending 400 meter champ
2	Jana Hieber	SR	Tufts	58.58	Five wins in five races
3	Tashina McAllister	SR	Wartburg	1:00.38	2nd last year
4	Rachael Kraske	JR	George Fox	1:00.70	19th last year
5	Sadie Yanckello	JR	Rhodes	1:00.77	14th last year
6	Heather Gearity	SR	Montclair St	1:00.84	Defending champ, sixth all-time
7	Alyssa Turner	SR	George Fox	1:01.17	6th in 2012, didn't compete last year
8	Peyton Dostie	JR	Southern Maine	1:01.21	3rd at ECAC's
9	Liz Martin	SR	Messiah	1:01.49	Made finals but didn't finish last year
10	Liz Pellegrini	SO	WPI	1:01.51
11	Melirah Searcy	JR	Rowan	1:01.75	Won ECAC's
12	Cheyenne Mangold	SR	Wash & Jeff	1:01.79	3rd last year
13	Cameron Edwards	SO	Rochester	1:01.84	2nd at ECAC's
14	Electra Korn	JR	Emory	1:01.94	6th in the 400 indoors
15	Kierra Smith	SR	Augustana (Ill)	1:01.94	7th last year
16	Megan McDonald	SO	Johns Hopkins	1:02.09
17	Ashton Steckelberg	SO	Neb Wesleyan	1:02.32	11th in high hurdles indoors
18	Hilary Coady	SO	Wooster	1:02.59	Also in heptathlon
19	Marolyn Saulsberry	SO	Hamline	1:02.78
20	Katelyn Ary	SO	TCNJ	1:02.86
21	Anna Lampe	JR	Luther	1:03.36
22	Alyza Ngbokoli	FR	Williams	1:03.45	5th at ECAC's

Women’s 4x100 Meter Relay:
Led by 100 meter top seed Meg Heafy, UW-La Crosse will be looking to successfully defend their title. Despite having the division-leading relay squad consisting of the same four members of last year’s championship team, the Eagles opted to declare a different foursome. As a result, they own the third seed in the prelims and will be looking up at the teams from Wartburg and Wheaton (Mass.).

Led by hurdle star Tashina McAllister and 100 and 200 entrant Libbey Schubert, Wartburg will be looking to solidify their place on the podium with a fast start in Saturday’s first final on the track. Meanwhile, Wheaton will be looking to improve upon their third place finish last year by relying on the superb Ashante Little, top seed in the 400 and 400H.

Lurking halfway down the list is the ever-dangerous team from St. Thomas. The Tommies secured seventh place last year and are led by 100 meter title contender Mallory Burnham. If she gets the baton within striking distance, the rest of the field is in trouble.

The best one-two punch in the field belongs to Amherst and the duo of freshman Karen Blake and senior Naomi Bates. Though their squad is seeded only thirteenth, the tandem will be hoping to propel the Lord Jeffs into the finals.

Predictions: UW-La Crosse, Wartburg, St. Thomas

Full Field Below: (with all-time personal bests included)

1	Wis.-La Crosse	46.55	12.41, 12.28, 12.20 (No time for Halvorson)
2	Wartburg	46.87	12.37, 12.31, 12.18, 11.94 personal bests, 12.20 average
3	Wheaton (Mass.)	47.05	12.94, 12.71, 12.43, 12.17 personal bests, 12.63 average
4	Wis.-Eau Claire	47.11	12.65, 12.45, 12.39, 12.24 personal bests, 12.43 average
5	Mount Union	47.29	12.86, 12.49, 12.17 (No time for Reese)
6	Cal Lutheran	47.45	12.76, 12.64, 12.52, 12.39 personal bests, 12.58 average
7	MIT	47.55	12.48, 12.47 (No time for Knittel or Konopka)
8	Emory	47.58	12.81, 12.54, 12.39, 12.14 personal bests, 12.47 average
9	Illinois Wesleyan	47.62	12.90, 12.47, 12.34, 12.31 personal bests, 12.51 average
10	St. Thomas (Minn.)	47.63	12.44, 12.30, 12.26, 11.84 personal bests, 12.22 average
11	Bethel (Minn.)	47.68	13.02, 12.84, 12.11 (No time for Peterson)
12	Buena Vista	47.71	12.78, 12.69, 12.44, 12.31 personal bests, 12.56 average
13	Amherst	47.72	12.61, 12.01, 11.93 (No time for Herold)
14	La Verne	47.77	12.97, 12.42, 12.25 12.22 personal bests,12.47 average
15	UMass Boston	47.79	12.89, 12.68, 12.62, 12.21 personal bests, 12.60 average
16	WPI	47.82	13.03, 12.59, 12.41 (No time for Pelligrini)

Women’s 4x400 Meter Relay:
The UW-La Crosse Eagles are the defending indoor and outdoor champions by over a second. Led by WIAC 400 meter champion Jenna Halvorson, they are once again the heavy favorite with an entry time of 3:44.28 and should be expected to cruise to a wide margin of victory. Perennial powerhouse Wartburg comes in as the second seed with a time of 3:45.30, and they will be hoping that anchor Libbey Schubert can flip the script on UW-La Crosse after their runner-up finish indoors.

The battle for third should be fierce, as the gap between the first and third seeds is larger than the gap between the third and fourteenth seed. UW-Oshkosh will certainly be looking for major points, as the team title may once again come down to the wire between them and conference rival UW-La Crosse. Anchor and star 800 meter runner Kylee Verhasselt will have to hold her own against the 400 meter specialists if the Titans want to hold off conference rivals UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout, the fifth and sixth seeds respectively.

Wheaton (Mass.) have the most dangerous runner in the field, defending 400 meter champion Ashante Little, and her teammate Meredith Scannell would be the best leg for almost any other school. The Lyons secured a team podium finish with their fourth place 4x400 performance indoors, and they will be looking to repeat that result here.

If you are looking for a dark horse, Roanoke has great potential. Though they are only the fourteenth seed, they could be a real threat if sophomore Alexis Janney can return to the form that she showed last year when she ran 56.42 in the open 400.

Predictions: UW-La Crosse, Wartburg, UW-Eau Claire

Full Field Below: (with all-time personal bests included)

1	Wis.-La Crosse	3:44.28	57.74, 56.98, 55.54, 55.49 personal bests, 56.44 average
2	Wartburg	3:45.30	58.41, 58.21, 57.38, 55.82 personal bests, 57.46 average
3	Rowan	3:47.68	59.04, 58.38, 57.46 (No time for Thompson)
4	Wis.-Oshkosh	3:48.24	58.99, 58.43, 58.13 (No time for Verhasselt)
5	Wis.-Eau Claire	3:48.26	60.00, 59.26, 58.27, 56.91 personal bests, 58.61 average
6	Wis.-Stout	3:48.36	58.65, 58.55, 57.16 (No time for Titterud)
7	Montclair State	3:48.86	61.62, 60.07, 56.53, 56.48 personal bests, 58.68 average
8	Johns Hopkins	3:49.66	60.47, 58.92, 57.07 (No time for Parsons)
9	Illinois Wesleyan	3:50.00	59.86, 59.61, 58.26, 56.70 personal bests, 58.61 average
10	Buffalo State	3:50.24	59.76, 58.37, 57.75, 56.67 personal bests, 58.14 average
11	Wheaton (Mass.)	3:50.27	60.24, 55.92, 54.79 (No time for Thomas)
12	Central College	3:50.71	61.27, 59.71, 57.52, 56.35 personal bests, 58.71 average
13	Williams	3:50.88	62.25, 59.16, 58.33, 57.88 personal bests, 59.43 average
14	Roanoke	3:50.94	58.50, 58.32, 56.46, 56.13 personal bests, 57.35 average
15	Mount Union	3:51.37	60.39, 59.97, 57.95, 56.04 personal bests, 58.59 average
16	Christopher Newport	3:51.55	62.72, 57.40, 58.80 (No time for Harrington)