Sydney Packard of Georgetown, Mass., Competes at NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships

2017 Mar 11

WPI freshman Sydney Packard finished 17th in the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field 800-meter run Friday at North Central.

Packard, the first rookie to make the indoor championships in the 11 years that head coach Brian Chabot has been associated with the program, was in contention for a spot in the finals through two laps with splits of 32.362 (sixth) and 32.999 (fourth) for a fifth-place time of 1:05.361. The second half of the race was not as fruitful resulting in a total time of 2:18.54, which was 4.49 off her best converted time of the season as her school record 2:12.52 from BU's Last Chance Meet equals 2:14.05 when converting from a banked track to a flat track.

WPI Track & Field begins its outdoor season April 1 at Coast Guard.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.