Tribe Wins Four Individual Titles
FAIRFAX, VA - Winning four individual titles William and Mary women's track and field won its fifth-consecutive CAA Championship, and sixth overall, with 218 points. Runner-up Virginia Commonwealth tallied 163 points, one better than third-place UNC-Wilmington. The College's depth pushed W&M to the front as 20 athletes earned All-CAA honors, awarded to the top-three performers in the race. Individual champions also earned automatic NCAA Regional bids in their respective events, excluding the heptathlon and 10,000m.Leading off the day for the Green and Gold was a one-two-three finish in the shot as junior Ayanna Jones (Richmond, VA) led the sweep with her winning distance of 46'4". Jones reclaimed the title, which she had won in 2002, in the fourth-straight season a Tribe thrower has won the event to break the ECAC barrier and earn automatic NCAA Regional bid. Sophomore Jen Showker (Harrisonburg, VA) earned runner-up honors with a distance of 42'4.75" while senior Cassidy Harris (Geneva, IL) completed those earning all-conference honors with her third-place distance of 41'10.50". W&M also saw a strong showing in the heptathlon, where sophomore Bonnie Meekins (Herndon, VA) led a one-two Tribe showing with a school-record total of 4,763 points. Sophomore Brenna Blevins (Pulaski, VA) tallied 4,672 points for runner-up and All-CAA honors as both she and Meekins qualified for ECACs with their totals. Defending champion Sarah McHale (Winchester, VA) claimed fourth to score for the team with a total of 4,148. In the 1,500m, sophomore Meghan Bishop (Blue Bell, PA) successfully defended her title with a winning time of 4:33.15, breaking the ECAC standard and also earning the automatic NCAA Regional bid. In the race, freshman Allie Lewis (Roanoke, VA) impressed by claiming fourth in 4:43.14 as junior Lauren Heron (Manlius, NY) also scored for the team in seventh at 4:47.44. The College also won the 4x400m relay as sophomore Mary Whitehead (Dulles, VA), Blevins, junior Lydia Malley (Arlington, VA) and senior Naomi Mattos (Woodbridge, VA) combined to run a 3:50.94, just a second shy of the school record and under the ECAC qualifying time.
The Tribe throwers continued to accrue accolades, finishing two-three in the discus. Showker netted runner-up honors for her second all-conference honors of the day with a distance of 136'5", just shy of the ECAC standard. Junior Liz Hager (Max Meadows, VA) earned All-CAA acclaim with her third-place throw of 134'3". Mattos was also All-CAA in the 400m where she ran an ECAC-qualifying 56.27 for third. In the 400m hurdles, sophomore Lauren Kloss (Hillsborough, NJ) netted all-conference honors with her third-place time of 1:04.76 as senior Catherine Schmierer (Holmdel, NJ) scored in eighth with a 1:08.57. In the 4x100m, Whitehead, Woody, Mattos and junior Erica Johnson (Stephens Church, VA) claimed all-conference accolades by finishing third in 47.51, under the ECAC standard.
The 800m saw three Tribe scorers as Malley led the charge in fourth at 2:16.44, two-tenths off all-conference honors. Lewis claimed sixth in 2:17.69 while Bishop finished eighth in 2:18.91. In the 100m hurdles, senior Kara Snyder (Clinton, NJ) scored in fifth with a 15.17 while Meekins placed seventh in 15.39. In the 100m, freshman Kathleen Woody (Oakton, VA) scored in seventh at 12.38.
Tribe track and field returns to action at the Penn Relays April 28-30 and at Christopher Newport's Invitational on April 30.
Women - Team Rankings - 21 Events Scored 1) College of William & Mary 218 2) VCU 163 3) UNC Wilmington 162 4) James Madison University 83 5) Towson University 76 6) George Mason 72 7) Delaware 41