Wesleyan was impressively represented by both young and old at the NCAA Division III Championships over spring break. Two seniors on the Wesleyan indoor track team earned All-America honors while two freshmen swimmers put up notable times, with one competitor garnering an honorable mention.
Jenna Flateman ’04 became an indoor track All-American for the fourth time after placing fourth in the 55-meter dash at the championship meet in Whitewater, WI, with a time of :07.16.
“It was a very emotional time, with this past nationals marking the end of my Wesleyan indoor career,” Flateman said. “Running has been such a part of who I am here at Wes for the past four years that my expectations were high, and performing for my University is always a priority.”
The top eight finishers in each event of the season’s final indoor meet were honored as All-Americans. Last year, Flateman won the event and set a university record when she crossed the finish line in a blazing :07.03, but this year she had some metaphorical hurdles to clear.
“Coming back from being abroad was really a struggle. It really put the world in perspective for me, and after returning I realized that I was in a very different place mentally than I had been in the past. Between that setback and the fact that I had to complete a two month crash course in learning how to run again, I really didn’t know what to expect. So, overall I am happy with outcome considering the circumstances.”
Pat Moffett ’04 finally realized his quest to be an All-American when he placed seventh in the 55-meter hurdles. While Moffett had been to the outdoor championships twice, this was his first trip to the indoor nationals. He delivered a solid performance, finishing in :07.65, just shy of the team record he set earlier this year.
The rookie swimming tandem of Joanna Tice ’07 and Ben Byers ’07 represented the Wesleyan swimming and diving team proudly at the championships in St. Peters, Missouri.
Byers competed in the 1650-yard freestyle race and finished in 16:02.80, good for 11th place. His effort earned him an All-American Honorable Mention slot. Eight seconds faster would have given Byers eighth place and All-American status.
“I’m excited with the improvement he made this season,” said Bolich. “He’s very motivated.”
Byers also competed in the 500-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley. He finished 36th in the 500-yard with a time 4:43.90, 5.6 seconds off of Honorable Mention status. He finished 25th in the 400 individual medley.
Tice also had a stellar performance. With a time of 24.78 seconds, just .35 off her personal best and school record time, Tice swam to a 28th place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. Her times in the 100-yard free and 200-yard free (54.02 and 1:57.41) were both lifetime bests, leading to respective 39th and 33rd place finishes.
“I think I was a little more nervous before my first event and it definitely affected my performance,” Tice said. “After that, I was fairly relaxed.”
Overall, the duo found just being at the competitions to be a fun experience.
“The best part was getting to be at such a big, fast meet and having the experience of swimming with people from all over the country,” Tice said. “The other NESCAC girls were kind of my team because I was the only Wesleyan swimmer.”
Two other Cardinals, Chris Andrews ’07 and Stephanie Lasby ’06 made the NCAA ‘B’ cut, but did not receive invitations. Andrews was named an All-NESCAC swimmer.
Bolich saw this year as a stepping stone to further improvements.
“As freshmen, to represent our team at nationals is exciting and bodes well for our future,” Bolich said.
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