Indianapolis, IN--- WPI will be sending a trio of student-athletes to the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships next weekend at the Polisseni Track and Field Complex in Rochester, New York hosted by St. John Fisher. Sydney Packard (Georgetown, MA) and Grace Hadley (North Reading, MA) will represent the Engineers' women's program while Nicholas Fiorenza (Oakton, VA) will be the men's participant.
No stranger to NCAA Championships, Packard will be participating in her fifth outdoor meet and ninth overall. The graduate student is an eight-time All-America, with four of them coming outdoor and three in the 800 meters, the event she'll be competing in in 2023. Packard, who also registered a time that would have qualified for the meet in the 1,500 meters, is seeded fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:09.80, achieved last weekend at the NEICAAA Championships.
Hadley also posted times that would have allowed her to be selected in two events, and like Packard will be forgoing the 1,500 meters, and in this case will be focusing on the 5,000 meters. The senior will be making her first appearance in an outdoor NCAA Championship after earning All-America status, along with Packard, in the indoor DMR back in March of 2020. Hadley is seeded 15th with a time of 16:53.64 at UMass' Flagship Opener last month.
Fiorenza found himself on the right side of the bubble to earn his first-ever trip to an NCAA Championship event. The senior was tabbed the 20th seeded in men's 110 hurdles, a time established earlier this month at the New England DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championship at Springfield. Fiorenza will look to give WPI three-straight All-Americas in the event as Oliver Thomas had earned the honor the last two years.
For individual event, the top 22 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition while for each relay event contested, the top 16 declared relay teams, one per institution, earned the trip to Rochester. While the three-day event kicks off Thursday, Packard and Fiorenza have their respective prelims on Friday, with finals on Saturday and Hadley competes in the 5,000 meters (a finals only event) on Saturday.
St. John Fisher Championship Site
Women's Accepted Entries
NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship Schedule
Friday, May 26th
5:00pm - Men's 110 Meter Hurdle Prelims
6:45pm - Women's 800 Meter Prelims
Saturday, May 27th
1:50pm - Men's 110 Meter Hurdle Final
3pm - Women's 800 Meter Final
4:25pm - Women's 5000 Meter Final