Mulcahy, Meekins Record Career Bests on Day Two of Ram Invitational
Redshirt Brandon Evans Ties Personal Best in High Jump
William & Mary Press Release
RICHMOND, VA - William and Mary athletes made several collegiate best performances yesterday as the VCU Ram Invitational drew to a close in Richmond. The Invitational kicked off the outdoor campaign, which will end in June with the NCAA and USAT&F championships.
For the men's team, sophomore Tom Mulcahy (Staunton, VA) took fifth in the discus with a career-best throw of 142'5", more than seven and a half feet better than his previous best. Redshirt-freshman Brandon Evans (Virginia Beach, VA) also turned in personal-best performances, as he cleared 6'2.75" in the high jump to take second and tie his best jump, set during the indoor season. He also ran the 100m dash for the first time in college, finishing in 11.59 seconds. Senior Justin Benabdallah (Natick, MA) also competed in the 100m dash, advancing out of the preliminaries in fifth place with a time of 11.02, before finishing sixth in the finals in 11.23.
On the women's side, junior Bonnie Meekins (Herndon, VA) jumped 18'0.5" in the long jump to take third and establish a new personal record. Other top-three finishes came from freshman Ashley Madonick (Seaside Park, NJ), who ran 58.97 in the 400m dash, and from the College's 4x100m relay, which was only one second off of the ECAC standard. In the 100m dash, junior Kathleen Woody (Herndon, VA) advanced to the finals with a preliminary time of 12.62, and improved three spots in the final to finish fourth in 12.89 seconds.
Tribe Opens Outdoor Season With ECAC and IC4A Qualifications
Day One of VCU Invite Yields Three Championship Bids, Four Personal Records
William & Mary Press Release
RICHMOND, VA - The luck of the Irish was with the runners in green and gold yesterday as the outdoor track season opened with the VCU Invitational in Richmond. Despite it being the first outing of the season, Tribe scholar-athletes were able to turn in some impressive performances, including three qualifications to the ECAC and IC4A championships, and a bevy of personal records.
In women's competition, junior Brenna Blevins (Pulaski, VA) threw the javelin 136'3" to clear the ECAC standard by about three feet and take fourth in the standings. Classmate Meghan Bishop (Blue Bell, PA) won the 1,500m race in 4:38.80 to lead twelve of her teammates in the event, including Julia Cathcart (Starkville, MS), fourth in a time of 4:86.81. In addition to the five freshmen running their first collegiate race at 1,500m, four veterans opened the season with personal record times. Lydia Malley (Arlington, VA) placed fifth with her time of 4:43.86, only five hundredths of a second behind Cathcart. Juniors Kate Willever (Pennington, NJ) and Anna Parker (Charlotte, NC) finish 10th and 16th, respectively, Willever crossing the line in 4:51.16 and Parker also coming in under 5 minutes at 4:57.96. Senior Loren Cutright (Montpelier, VA) opened her final season by blowing past her previous best by more than four seconds, finishing in 5:02.64.
Two W&M tracksters picked up IC4A bids in the 3,00m steeplechase as the team swept the top five spots and eight of the top nine in the races. Sean Anastasia-Murphy (Gloucester, MA) won his signature event in 9:15.35, and Anthony Arena (Manassas, VA) was hard on his heels at 9:15.84, clearing the IC4A standard by 16 hundredths of a second in a runner-up performance. Freshman Harry Miller (Portland, OR) ran an impressive 9:28.10 in his first collegiate steeplechase to claim third. In the men's 1,500m, NCAA veteran Jeff Hedley (Virginia Beach, VA) took first in 3:53.27, and All-American Christo Landry (Falls Church, VA) finished third in 3:56.18. Senior thrower Aaron Mitchell (Buffalo, NY) took third in the hammer throw with a heave of 160'10", and freshman Alex Heacock (Lititz, PA) opened his college career with a throw of 189'1" in the javelin, only 14 inches shy of qualifying for the IC4A championships.