Calvin Wetzel
Sports Editor
The Wheaton men’s distance medley relay (DMR) team participated in the final indoor track meet of the season on Friday, March 8, as they competed in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at North Central College. The team of seniors Mark Phillips and Luke Vance and juniors Kyle Williams and James Waterman finished the race with a time of 10:02.01, placing them fifth in the country.
“Having a top-tier men’s DMR has been a goal of (Luke’s) and mine (and others) since freshman year, and to realize that dream, even despite some serious setbacks, was a special way to close out our last indoor season,” Phillips said.
Phillips ran the 1200-meter first leg of the relay, Williams ran the 400-meter second leg, Vance ran the third leg of 800 meters and Waterman anchored the relay, running the 1600-meter leg. It was the best national finish for a DMR team in Wheaton history, and the group’s time of 9:59.50 in the CCIW meet on Friday, Feb. 22, stands as a school record. The fifth place finish earns the four runners All-American status in Indoor Track.
“It was great to have a lot of support at the meet, and we hope this energy will carry into the outdoor season,” Williams said.
The CCIW meet and the national meet concluded the 2013 indoor track season. The men’s and women’s track teams will both open up the outdoor season today at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Two members of the Wheaton wrestling squad also competed at the national level. Sophomore Dan Olsen qualified for nationals in the 184-pound weight class with a third place finish at the NCAA-III Midwest Regional on Saturday, March 2, while senior 197-pounder Darren Faber took second in regionals to advance to the national tournament.
On Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, Olsen and Faber wrestled in the NCAA-III Wrestling Championships. Faber, competing in nationals for the second consecutive year, won his first two matches on Friday, earning himself a spot in the quarterfinals. He lost his quarterfinal match and consolation match on Saturday by 6-4 and 3-2, respectively.
Olsen won his first match in a 4-2 decision on Friday, March 15, before falling in his second match. He bounced back to win in a fall only 24 seconds into the match, which advanced him to the seventh place match. He won that to become Wheaton’s first All-American wrestler since Toby Boltz in 2009.
Faber concluded his season with an 18-5 record, and Olsen finished with a record of 29-5.
File Photo Credit: Allison Freet