Williams Men's & Women's Track & Field Teams Come Away with 2003 Championship

Courtesy Williams Sports Information

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —Saturday, April 26, the Williams men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams won their third consecutive titles at the 2003 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Williams’ own Plansky Track. The wins mark the men’s eleventh in the last twelve years, and the women’s eighth in the last ten.

In the men’s meet, Williams scored 135 points. Tufts University snagged second place over Bates by a half-point margin, 119.5 to 119, and Bowdoin landed fourth with 105. Among the women, Williams collected 230 points, Tufts claimed second with 144, and Colby brought home third with 109.5 points.

Caroline Cretti of Williams clocked 35:28.11 in the women’s 10,000 meters to break the meet record of 35:31.88 that Maggie Hanson of Hamilton set in 2001. Carter Hamill of Amherst, who finished second to Cretti in 35:30.58, also dipped under Hanson’s time. The Williams 1600-meter relay of Samuel, Moody, Koene, and Doody broke the tape in 3:54.68, undercutting the previous standard of 3:56.53 that a previous Williams relay set in 1997. Elizabeth Wanless of Bates established a new meet record in the shot put with her heave of 14.72 meters, replacing the 13.75-meter distance that Healy Thompson of Williams threw in 2000.

No meet records were broken in the men’s events, but Xavier Garcia of Colby won three of the day’s events, sweeping the 400-meter open, long jump, and triple jump.

Jenna Flateman of Wesleyan held onto her individual titles in the sprints, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Karima Ummah of Colby won both the long and triple jumps.