WESTWOOD, Mass. - The MIT Engineers have been selected as the No. 1 team in the preseason coaches poll ahead of the 2023 season after tying for the conference crown one-year ago with WPI.
MIT received eight of the nine first-place votes, while WPI grabbed the other first-place vote. Coast Guard Academy was third, while Springfield and Smith rounded out the top five.
The NEWMAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field season gets underway over the next couple of weeks. The NEWMAC Championship Meet is scheduled for Apr. 29 and 30 at MIT.
2023 NEWMAC Women's Track and Field Preview
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1. MIT
The Engineers come into 2023 following the program’s 12th NEWMAC Championship as the Engineers tied WPI in the 2022 championship meet. Kimmy McPherson leads the Engineer returners as she captured the NCAA national title in the high jump last season to go along with the All-American 4x400 relay team and an All-American performance in the shot put from Alexis Boykin. Overall, MIT returns seven NEWMAC First Team All-Conference selections, seven Second Team performers and 11 NCAA qualifiers
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Kimmy McPherson, MIT
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2. WPI
WPI comes off a NEWMAC Women’s Track & Field Championship where the Crimson and Gray totaled nine NEWMAC titles and 15 All-Conference honors last spring. Caitlin Guilfoyle (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) and Sydney Packard (Georgetown, MA) return to the track this spring looking to maintain conference champion status as Guilfoyle earned the women’s 1500-meter title and Packard was crowned in the 800-meter and participated in the All-Conference 4x400 meter relay alongside Leithsa Dimanche (Billerica, MA), Isabel Hallal (Foxboro, MA) and Elise DeShusses (Chapel Hill, NC). WPI marked its highest-ever finish at the New England Division III championships taking second place highlighted by a trio of NEDIII titles and 11 total All-New England nods. Two-time All-America Viv Evans (Newtown Square, PA) and All-America Jazmyn Ewing (Worcester, MA) look to contribute in the sprints.
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Sydney Packard, WPI
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3. Coast Guard Academy
Coast Guard will be looking to several top competitors from last year’s NEWMAC Championships to lead Bears during the spring season. Senior Michelle Kwafo was last year’s 100m dash champion with a time of 11.91, as well as the runner up in the 100 hurdles finishing in 14.75. Madison Garrigus was an event winner and a top competitor for the Bears after winning the pole vault clearing 3.4m (11’ 1.75”). Other top finishers for the Bears included Kelly Wade in long jump (3rd, 5.39m, 17’8.25”), Megan Churm in the 10K (3rd, 38:08.98), and Taylor Winters in the 800m (4th, 2:19.86). In the throwing events, Kalea Salang, Maureen Hammond, and Ellen Mercatoris will look to improve upon their top 5 place finishes. There were only a few point scorers out of last year’s senior class with several newcomers that will help push the Bears this spring season.
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Michelle Kwafo, Coast Guard Academy
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4. Springfield College
Springfield will look to build on a 2023 outdoor season where it took third at the NEWMAC Championships as a team. This season, Matlyn Gross headlines the Pride as a returning conference runner-up in the triple jump.
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Matlyn Gross, Springfield
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5. Smith College
Under the direction of second-year coach Courtney Jaworski, Smith has a talented class of newcomers ready to make an impact this season. Pria Parker was an All-Conference and All-Region performer a year ago in the 800 and 4x800.
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Shams Ferver, Smith
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6. Wheaton College
Junior Schyler Wyse (East Granby, Conn.) earned Second Team All-Conference accolades last year as part of the second-place 4X100 relay squad. She also finished third in the 200 meters and eighth in the 400 meters at the NEWMAC Championship and went on to earn All-Region status after placing fourth in the 200 meters at the New England Championship. First years Amanda Castaldi (Wallingford, Conn.), Wendy Wooden (Sharon, Mass.) and Michaina Loriston (Boston, Mass.) could all make major impacts for Wheaton in the outdoor season. Castaldi and Wooden were both named All-Region in the 60-meter hurdles and 200 meters, respectively with Loriston just missing the designation in the 60 meters during the indoor season. In addition, the Lyons have some talented throwers as well, led by sophomore Tianna Rogers (Danbury, Conn.), who was 14th in the shot put at the New England Outdoor Championship. |
Schyler Wyse, Wheaton
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7. Wellesley College
Ninth year head coach Phil Jennings hopes to improve upon a seventh place finish at last year’s NEWMAC Championships. Returning for the Blue are seniors Claire Anderson and Ellie Murphy-Weise, both of whom competed at the NEICAAA Championships last spring, and senior Kate Winkler who finished 11th in the 400m dash at the 2022 New England DIII Championships. The team will blend experience with youth, with 10 seniors and 14 first years on the roster.
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Ellie Murphy, Wellesley
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8. Babson College
Babson returns 10 competitors from a team that placed ninth at the 2022 NEWMAC Championship meet. Sophomore Angela Hagstrom set a program record in the 400 meters last spring and also teamed with seniors Caroline Reilly and Rachel Ip to record the two fastest times in school history in the 4x100-meter relay.
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Caroline Reilly, Babson
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9. Mount Holyoke College
In her first season at Mount Holyoke, three-time NESCAC Coach of the Year Jay Hartshorn is looking to both develop a talented existing base of student-athletes and build depth in the program. Expected standouts include senior captain and thrower Emma Doyle (West Lebanon, N.H.), first-year sprinter and jumper Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii), and sophomore distance runner Tessa Lancaster (Mansfield, Mass.).
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Emma Doyle, Mount Holyoke
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2023 NEWMAC Women's Track and Field Preseason Poll
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MIT (8) - 64
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WPI (1) - 55
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Coast Guard - 47
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Springfield - 43
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Smith - 36
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Wheaton - 30
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Wellesley - 28
- Babson - 11
9. Mount Holyoke - 10
(Preview information is courtesy of Institutional Sports Information Departments)