Feb. 2, William and Mary competed at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup at Penn State. The men claimed a third-place finish overall at a six-team meet, stealing the bronze and coming in behind host Penn State and challenger Cornell. The women finished seventh out of eight teams in a tight spread of standings where seventh place was just three points behind fifth.
The men’s team saw three individual wins. Senior Ryan McGorty came in at 4:04.66 in the mile run for a career best and the best time of the meet. Redshirt senior Daniel Giliomee claimed the gold on the pole vault with a height of 5.05 meters, while redshirt senior Preston Richardson came in first in the shot put with a distance of 17.48 meters. Sophomore KJ Cook, coming in just behind with 17.23 meters, claimed second place.
The women’s squad saw some monumental individual performances as several Tribe athletes shattered career and lifetime bests with their efforts. The meet was highlight by redshirt sophomore Victoria Gersch, who set a school record with a 25.05 in the 200-meter dash. Meanwhile, senior Grace Becker claimed second in the high jump with a lifetime-best 1.74 meters and set the fifth-best height in school history. Junior Liv Paxton cleared her lifetime best time by 10 seconds with a 9:50.90 in the 3,000-meter race. Junior Lauren Graves tied her all-time best on the pole vault, while senior Lindsay Schott beat her indoor-best record in the 800-meter.
Both teams are back in action at the Vince Brown Invitational Feb. 3 in Newport News.
