Despite the snowstorm preparing to engulf the vast majority of the state of Virginia, William and Mary traveled to Newport News, Va. Friday to compete in the CNU Captains’ Invitational. Wintry conditions outside could do nothing to slow down the Tribe at the indoor facility, as both men’s and women’s teams turned in quality performances.
Fielding a much smaller team than the other four schools’ teams, the men’s squad still finished the first day of competition in second place, behind only The Citadel. The College earned four wins Friday, highlighted by senior Brian Waterfield in the weight throw, who continued his dominant early season performance with a first place throw of 20.28 meters. In addition, junior Taylor Frenia’s second-place throw of 18.25 meters re-qualified him for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championships in early March.
Junior Taylor Frenia’s second-place throw of 18.25 meters re-qualified him for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championships in early March.
Junior Trevor Sleight easily took top honors in the 5,000 meters, finishing in a time of 15:40.93, almost 37 seconds faster than any other runner. The Tribe also claimed victory in the 4×800 meter relay, as freshman Duncan Goodrich, sophomore Michael Wilkens, and seniors Jomar Aryee and Ricky Cappetta teamed up for an impressive 8:02.54 time, beating out the second place team by close to 30 seconds. Wilkens won once again in the distance medley relay later in the evening, joined in the winners’ circle this time by junior Cavender Salvatori, sophomore Faris Sakallah and freshman Ryan McGorty.
The men earned two more wins Saturday, with Frenia taking first in the shot with a 16.96m put, another IC4A qualifying performance for the junior. Junior Derek O’Connell claimed victory in the pole vault, the only competitor to clear over 5 meters. The Tribe finished with a total of 123 points, good for fourth place.
Sophomore Leia Mistowski won the weight throw with a toss of 16.77 meters, which qualified her for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
The women’s squad also recorded four wins Friday, topping the leaderboard with 76.5 points. Sophomore Leia Mistowski won the weight throw with a toss of 16.77 meters, which qualified her for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. Sophomore All-American Regan Rome dominated the 5,000 meters, finishing almost an entire minute ahead of any other runner with a time of 18:33.21.
Fellow sophomore Jacqueline Meeks tied for first at the pole vault, clearing 3.48 meters. The 4×800 meter relay also belonged to the College, with junior Kate Vannoy, senior Felicia Hammer, and sophomores Kacey Wheeler and Steph Urbancik winning by over 90 seconds ahead of the team from The Citadel.
The Tribe could not duplicate Friday’s success on Saturday. The College was unable to win any competitions but still finished in second place with 174.5 points. Sophomore Minna McFarland came closest to winning in the high jump, setting a new personal record with a leap of 1.65 meters. However, based on the number of attempts she fell to second place.
William and Mary returns to action this weekend, with men and women competing at both the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston and the Patriot Games at George Mason in Fairfax,Va.