Nicole Kazuba, DMR Win at the Colonial Relays

W&M Finishes Third in the Team Championship

04/05/08 9:45PM

WILLIAMSBURG - Michigan State used a balanced attack and Seton Hall was dominant in the short relays Saturday at the 43rd annual Colonial Relays, with Michigan State coming out on top of the team championship struggle, 124-112. William and Mary hung with both schools to the very end, utilizing victories in two events and six total scoring performances to place third with 101 points, nearly 30 points shy of the rest of the field.

Final Results

Tribe sophomore Nicole Kazuba (Chantilly, Va.) started the scoring early, winning the pole vault with an ECAC-qualifying height of 12’ 3.5”. Navy’s Jackie Charnigo and Pitt’s Victoria Toso placed second and third, respectively, after both cleared 11’ 11.75” to meet the ECAC Championships standard.

Seton Hall’s Domnique Washington won the high jump by clearing the bar 5’ 5”, and Jackie Charnigo earned her second silver of the day, tying with Virginia Commonwealth’s Frankie Moore with a height of 5’ 3”.

Megan Halliwill of Michigan State won her second title of the meet, this time in the discus, throwing for 144 feet even. Ashley Fauntleroy of UMBC qualified for the ECAC Championships with her second-place effort of 140’ 5”, and Lisa Morse of St. Francis (Pa.) also exceeded the ECAC standard by throwing for 140’ 4”.

Georgetown University qualified its 4x800m relay team for the ECAC Championships with its title-winning turn of 8:51.12. Michigan State was second in 9:00.73, and Yale was third in 9:08.74 also qualifying for ECACs.

James Madison was the surprise victor in the 4x100m relay, out-sprinting Michigan State down the stretch to take gold in an ECAC-qualifying 46.20 seconds. The Spartans finished in 46.49, and Seton Hall qualified for the ECAC meet in third with a time of 46.54 seconds.

The triple jump provided a close and exciting finish, as Georgetown’s Alex Baptiste leapt 38’ 3.25” for gold, only half-of-an-inch beyond JMU’s Katelyn Guerierre. Chaquerra Allen of Michigan State claimed bronze with her jump of 37’ 9.5”.

William and Mary’s distance medley relay team of Meghan Burns (Coopersburg, Pa.), Ashley Madonick (Seaside Park, N.J.), Allie Lewis (Roanoke, Va.), and Emily Anderson (Golf, Ill.) easily outpaced the field to win in 11:37.13, a victory keyed by Madonick’s 400m leg that overcame a great 800m from Georgetown and allowed the Tribe’s last two legs to pull away. Yale’s team was second in 11:50.33, with Georgetown taking third in 11:57.33.

Jackie Walton qualified for the NCAA Regional in 13.78 seconds while winning the 100m hurdles for the second year in a row, well ahead of the rest of the final heat. Seton Hall claimed place and show with ECAC-qualifying efforts, as Janeille Brathwaite ran 14.21 seconds and Imani Gilliam timed 14.41 seconds.

Michigan State won again in the 100m dash, as Erica Mann cruised to gold in 12.03 seconds. Seton Hall’s Adama Pitts was second in 12.26 seconds, and Paris Mandy from Michigan State claimed third in 12.33 seconds.

An NCAA Regional bid, along with a gold medal was the reward for Diane Gmiter of St. Francis (Pa.) in the shot put, after she won the event with a put of 48’ 4.75”. Ashley Fauntleroy of UMBC put the shot 46’ 9.5” to qualify for the ECAC Championships, where she will be joined by St. Francis’ Lisa Morse, third with a put of 45’ 10.75”.

Seton Hall’s team won the 4x200m relay in a time of 1:38.49, out-dueling James Madison (1:38.92) down the stretch. Georgetown placed third with a time of 1:41.99.

Michigan State won the 4x1,500m relay in 18:33.74, comfortably ahead of the field. William and Mary’s team of Lynn Morelli (Philadelphia, Pa.), Abby Booker (Haddonfield, N.J.), Emily Gousen (Arlington, Va.), and Betsy Graney (Harper Woods, Mich.) took second in 18:59.52, and James Madison was third with a time of 19:21.77.

Down only ten points heading into the final event, Seton Hall did all it could do by winning the 4x400m relay with an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 3:41.40. Needing only to place sixth to guarantee the victory, Michigan State’s team ran 3:49.01 for second place finishing just ahead of Monmouth’s ECAC-qualifying time of 3:50.25.

William and Mary returns to action next Saturday, April 12, when it travels to the Lou Onesty Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Colonial Relays – Final Team Standings
1. Michigan State 124
2. Seton Hall 112
3. WILLIAM AND MARY 101
4. James Madison 72.33
5. Georgetown 70
6. St. Francis (Pa.) 38
7. Monmouth 37.33
8. Navy 31
9. Yale 25
10. Delaware 22
11. Virginia Commonwealth 19
12. Maryland-Baltimore County 18.33
13. George Mason 18
14. Pittburgh 16
15. Cortland State 10
16. Mount St. Mary’s 8
17. Howard 6
18. Saint Joseph’s 5
19. Iona 4
T20. Fordham 2
T20. Christopher Newport 2