Over the weekend, the William and Mary men’s and women’s teams headed south to Raleigh, North Carolina for an early season test at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State. By far the biggest meet of the season, the College was in for a tough test this weekend. The meet featured several competitors, including in-state rivals George Mason and Virginia Tech, as well as several other top teams from across the country. The College sent several top-tier athletes to the meet, such as sophomore Miles Owens, last week’s Colonial Athletic Association Track Athlete of the Week and reigning CAA Field Athlete of the Week, freshman Troy Yearwood.
Friday, the Tribe’s distance runners toed the line for the men’s 5000m run. Senior Ryan McGorty ran a personal best of 14:10.78, likely putting him in position to qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic Association East Regional Meet in May. Freshman Evan Goodell also ran a personal best, running 14:40.59. In the 1500m, junior Charlotte Kowalk continued the personal best trend, winning the sixth heat, with a blazing 4:32.02 time. Sophomore Lauren Finikiotis also ran a personal best in the same event, winning the fifth heat in a time of 4:35.72. Finishing off the impressive marks for the College was junior Olivia Paxton, who raced to an impressive third place in the open 10000m, running 34:56 for the 25-lap race. Overall, the distance runners showed up in Raleigh and provided some key performances that will be needed as the season rages on.
In the throws, the Tribe picked up four top-15 finishes in the men’s discus, led by sophomore Kelly Cook, Jr., who recorded the first of three Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Qualifiers with a throw of 50.14m. He was followed by sophomore Connor Scott, senior Preston Richardson and Yearwood. Cook, Jr. also finished in the top ten of the men’s shot put and men’s hammer throw, while junior Samantha Moravsky placed fifth in the women’s javelin with a throw of 44.73m. In the women’s pole vault, sophomore Taylor Jones finished in the top 15 with a mark of 3.65m while junior Grace Becker finishedfifth in the women’s high jump, continuing her strong season with a jump of 1.68m. The field events have carried the Tribe so far this season, as the College has earned IC4A qualifiers in many field events. Senior Brianna Miller, fresh off her school record in the triple jump last weekend, notched a pair of top-10 finishes in the long jump and triple jump, with performances of 5.60m and 11.77m, respectively.
Thus, the Tribe recorded a plethora of impressive performances across the track and in the field, where the College finished with numerous top-10 marks. This meet will provide a stepping stone to bigger and more important meets later in the season. Next weekend, the teams will be back in action at Zable Stadium, as the College will host the 54th annual Colonial Relays. This meet is the nation’s largest regular season scored meet, and the action will continue from Thursday to Saturday. The meet will feature numerous top teams from across the NCAA. After that, both teams will head north to the nation’s capital, for a showdown at the Mason Spring Invitational April 13. Action will kick off this weekend Thursday at 4 p.m. inside Zable Stadium.