Athletics News

Connecticut College Hosts New England Division III Championship Saturday

November 05, 2007

NEW LONDON, Conn.--The Connecticut College athletic program will host the New England Division III Championship this Saturday at Harkness State Park in Waterford, Connecticut. The women´s championship will get underway at 11:00 a.m. with the men´s race to follow at noon.

In each race, the top two teams will qualify automatically for the 2007 NCAA Championship that will take place on November 17 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The third through fifth place teams in each race will enter into an at-large pool to await the final selections on Sunday, November 11. The top seven individual qualifiers that are not members of a qualifying team will receive individual bids. Their selection will be determined once the at-large team selections are made.

Amherst College and Williams College hold respective rankings of #1 and #2 in New England and figure to be the favorites to earn the two automatic berths in the women´s field. Bowdoin College, Middlebury College, MIT, Colby College, Tufts University and Keene State should all contend for one of the top five spots in the field. Keene State College senior Jennifer Adams (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) along with Amherst College´s senior Heather Wilson (Danvers, Mass.), and Tufts seniors Cat Beck (Brookline, N.H.) and Katy O´Brien (North Easton, Mass.) should be in contention for the individual championship. Bowdoin College freshman Yasmine White (Boulder, Colo.), junior Nora Youngs (Penacook, N.H.) of Smith College, Wheaton College senior Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, Mass.) and Middlebury junior Alexandra Krieg (Wellesley, Mass.) will all contend for the individual title.

In the men´s championship, the Williams College Ephs are the favorites and hold the #1 ranking in the latest New England Division III Coaches Poll with 80 first place votes. Amherst College, Bowdoin College, MIT and Trinity College will vie for the second spot and any of these programs could finish in the top five.

Amherst College´s Will Yochum (Goleta, Calif.), Williams College´s Edgar Kosgey (Eldoret Rift Valley, Kenya) and Trinity´s Hunter Norte (Ellington, Conn.) and Sam Moorehead (Dedham, Mass.) should all be in contention for the individual championship. MIT junior Jake Ruzevick (Coronado, Calif.) along with seniors Curtis and Nick Wheeler (Derby, Vt.) from the University of Southern Maine will contend for the individual crown. Connecticut College senior Keith Drake (Norwich, Vt.) should also be in the hunt for the individual title, competing on his home course for the tournament hosts.

For more information contact: William Tomasian (860) 439-2501; william.tomasian@conncoll.edu