Williams Men, Women Win 2009 Track & Field Championships

Courtesy Connecticut College Sports Information

Men's Results  |  Women's Results

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Williams College men's and women's teams won the 2009 NESCAC Track & Field Championships on Saturday afternoon at Silfen Field hosted by Connecticut College.

In the women’s championship, the Ephs secured their 10th straight title and 18th overall with a score of 180 points. Middlebury College took second place with 156 points. Tufts University scored 145 points en route to its third place finish.

On the men’s side, the Ephs continued their dominance, scoring 154.5 points on their way to their 15th outright championship in the past 17 years. Williams and Tufts shared the NESCAC crown in 2007. The closest call of the day was the battle for second place. The Bates Bobcats edged out the Tufts Jumbos by just a one-half of a point to finish as the runners up with 116.5 points.

Williams College junior Elise Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio) paved the way to the victory for the Ephs in the women’s action. Johnson won the 100 meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional mark of 14.70 seconds. She recorded a pair of second place finishes in both the 100 and 200 meter dash, posting respective times of 12.68 and 25.85 seconds. In the 4x100 meter relay, Johnson ran the lead leg for the winning 4x100 meter relay team that reached the finish line in 48.74 seconds.

Middlebury College sophomore Kaitlynn Saldanha (Scarborough, Maine) won the 800 meter run in a NESCAC record time of 2:12.12. Saldanha contributed to a new facility record in the 4x800 meter relay, running the anchor leg for the Panther foursome that posted a victory in 9:15.23.

Tufts University junior Logan Crane (Portland, Maine.) posted a pair of wins in both the 100 meter dash (12.67 seconds) and the long jump (5.64). The victory in the long jump met the provisional standard for the 2009 NCAA Championship. Crane ran the anchor leg on the Jumbo’s 4x100 meter relay team that placed second in 49.35 seconds. She added a fourth place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.20 seconds.

Sophomore sprinter Taylor Fitzgerald (Dedham, Mass.) keyed the victory for the Williams men. Fitzgerald cruised to victory in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.97 seconds, adding a second place score in the 200 (22.64 seconds). In the 4x100 meter relay, Fitzgerald ran the anchor leg for the Ephs winning squad that reached the finish line in 42.50 seconds.

Bates College junior Rich McNeil (Lawrence, Mass.) collected some clutch wins in the field events for the runners up. McNeil provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship with his victory in the hammer throw (52.09 meters). In the discus, McNeil covered a distance of 43.11 meters in another win. He threw the shot put 15.29 meters in a second place scoring for the Bobcats.

Tufts senior sprinter Phillip Rotella (Louisville, Ky.) won the 200 meter dash (22.47 seconds) and took second in the 100 with a time of 11.16 seconds. Rotella ran the anchor leg on the 4x400 meter relay squad that posted a time of 3:24.36 in a fourth place showing for the Jumbos.