Two NCAA Regional Marks Punctuate Men's Track and Field at Liberty Invitational

Chris Parsons and Andy Smith Qualify for NCAA Regionals

04/03/04 10:00PM

LYNCHBURG, VA - Senior Chris Parsons (Dunkirk, MD) and junior Andy Smith (Raleigh, NC) qualified for the NCAA East Regional as defending CAA Champion William and Mary men's track and field competed Saturday at the Liberty Invitational. The College claimed third place at the scored meet with 85 points, behind winner Liberty (182) and runner-up Lock Haven (149).

The Tribe throwers continue to impress, this week capturing two NCAA Regional bids, five IC4A berths, and all four event wins. One of the NCAA Regional marks came from Parsons who threw for 184'11" to win the hammer. The performance also surpassed the IC4A qualifying standard. Also in the hammer, junior Aaron Mitchell (Buffalo, NY) broke his personal record by some six feet with a throw of 166'9", good enough for fourth place. Smith, the CAA Athlete of the Week, claimed another win in the javelin by breaking the NCAA Regional and IC4A mark again, this time with a winning distance of 209'5".

The Green and Gold took three of the top five positions in the shot, including a sweep of the first two. Mitchell claimed the victory with a throw of 53'2", ahead of runner-up Parsons who threw for 52'6.5". Both marks qualified for competition at the IC4As. Freshman Steven Huntzinger (Fairfax, VA) claimed fifth with a throw of 50'6" while junior Nick Hecker-Thompson (Seattle, WA) took seventh with a distance of 46'0". Huntzinger would then shatter his personal record to win the discus, with an IC4A qualifying throw of 156'05", a career best by 15'. Parsons claimed fourth in the event with a 14115" while Hecker-Thompson took seventh with a 136'2".

The College was strong throughout all events, as sophomore Noah Gabriel-Landis (Underhill, VT) won the long jump with a career best leap of 21'6.75" while freshman Steve Gillard (Herndon, VA) raced to sixth in the 800m, timing a career best of 2:00.91 in the effort. In the 400m hurdles, sophomore James Hipolit (Lititz, PA) captured third with a 56.84 as freshman Justin Zamorski (Virginia Beach, VA) cleared a personal record 13'9" in the pole vault to take sixth, three feet better than his previous best.

Sophomore Justin Benabdallah (Natick, MA) continues to be a solid sprinter for the squad, claiming fourth in the 200m with a 22.62 while taking seventh in the 100m with a 11.51. Senior Aaron Spicer (Woodbridge, VA) claimed third in the decathlon with 5,745 points.

Tribe track is next in action at the University of Virginia Invitational April 9-10.