Thursday, Jan. 18 to Saturday, Jan. 20, William and Mary men’s and women’s track teams began their spring season with an impressive performance at the Brant Tolsma Invitational at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
Highlighted by impressive outings from both the men’s and women’s squads, the Green and Gold secured multiple top-10 finishes over the course of the three day event.
In the women’s 800 meter run, Tribe senior Makenzie Joiner finished sixth with a time of 2:17.06 while freshman Becca Harkness finished in tenth with a time of 2:19.16.
In the 1000 meter run, junior Arianna DeBoer secured a first place finish for the Green and Gold, recording a blinding time of 2:56.77, which marks a personal best. Senior Molly Coyle took 10th as well, edging out the 11th place finisher from Western Carolina by just three tenths of a second.
In the 3000 meter run, senior Kyra Holland took third out of 28, crossing the finish line with an impressive 10:01.96 time.
Then, in the 5000 meter run, sophomore Sofia Istnick made history. On top of securing a first place finish, Istnick recorded a meet record of 16:41.61, winning by more than 10 seconds.
The women’s team also performed well in the field events, headlined by a second place finish in the pole vault by freshman Elizabeth Strobach. Senior Megan Heidebrecht finished third in the triple jump, cementing a best jump of 12.03 meters.
On the men’s side, the Tribe wasted no time adding even more top-10 finishes to its already impressive weekend. In the 60 meter dash, senior Jackson Cooley finished fourth with a time of 6.94.
In the 400 yard dash, sophomore Austin Rice placed second, missing the first place finisher from Liberty by just four hundredths of a second.
In the 800 meter run, William and Mary sophomore Lucas Thompson and freshman Henry Anderson finished seventh and eight, respectively, both finishing within five seconds of the winning time.
In a nail-biting finish, Tribe junior Luke Ellwood finished second in the mile, crossing the finish line with an incredible time of 4:18.06.
Senior Sam Pritchard and sophomore Brendan DiStefano both notched top-10 finishes in the 3000 meter, finishing fifth and ninth, respectively.
The Tribe also placed third in the 4×400 relay, finishing behind Wofford and Western Carolina by just three seconds.
In the field events, sophomore Jason Nwosu started the men’s team off hot, finishing eighth in shot put with a best throw of 14.39 meters. Nwosu also finished seventh in the weight throw, peaking at just under 17 meters.
Finally, in the heptathlon, freshman Brian Walsh finished third with 4.802 points, breaking the Tribe’s freshman record in the event.
Both men’s and women’s teams will head to Fairfax, Va. next week to compete at the Patriot Games hosted by George Mason.
