Women's Track and Field Reclaims CAA Title

School-Record 4x400m Relay Anchors Golden Weekend

04/20/08 12:09AM

WILLIAMSBURG - William and Mary’s women’s track and field team received production from all facets of the team Saturday to claim the Colonial Athletic Association title for the seventh time in eight years at Zable Stadium, culminating the day with a school-record performance in the 4x400m relay. George Mason claimed both Performer of the Meet awards, with Ryann Hendricks sweeping the long jump and triple jump for the field award, and Murielle Ahoure claiming victory in the 100m and 200m dashes to repeat as the top track performer.

Final Results
Final Heptathlon Results

In the 4x400m, the team of Dana Harvey (Mechanicsville, Va.), Allie Lewis (Roanoke, Va.), Mallory Hogan (West Hartford, Conn.), and Ashley Madonick (Seaside Park, N.J.) broke the school record by nearly two seconds, running 3:47.94 for fifth place and berth at the ECAC Championships. Harvey, Lewis, and Madonick were all part of the team that broke the school 4x400m indoor record a little under two months ago.

Shifting from the end of the day to the beginning, freshman Katie Guevel (Burlington, Kan.) won the heptathlon with 5,158 points, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Her score also broke her own freshman record and ranks her third all-time at the College, as well as qualified her for the ECAC Championships and set the Cary Field record for the event. Guevel earned top-three finishes in all three of the day’s events, including winning the javelin with a throw of 126’ 5”. Senior Brenna Blevins (Pulaski, Va.), the 2006 champion in the event, took fourth and qualified for the ECAC Championships with a score of 4,565 points in her first heptathlon in nearly two years. Blevins earned runner-up honors in both the javelin (122’ 11”) and the 800m run (2:25.30).

Sophomore Meghan Burns (Coopersburg, Pa.) defended her top billing in the 1,500m run, timing a career-best 4:30.42 for the CAA title and an automatic berth at the NCAA Regional and ECAC Championships. Her time also ranks her as the ninth-fastest runner in school history. Freshman Betsy Graney (Harper Woods, Mich.) was sixth in 4:38.77, qualifying for the USAT&F Junior Nationals, and junior Rebecca Ward (Midlothian, Va.) finished seventh in 4:39.28.

In the finals of the 800m run, Lewis gained some measure of recompense for two years of heartbreak by winning her first conference title in 2:11.01, gaining the automatic entry into the NCAA Regional and ECAC Championships. Sophomore Kelly McElroy (Wyomissing, Pa.) was third in 2:14.45 for all-conference honors, and classmate Keely Murphy (Owings, Md.) took seventh in 2:16.67.

At the Stimson Throwing Events Area, the throwing corps was doing its part for the team. Sophomore Carly Morse (Summerduck, Va.) won the shot put on her final put of the day, recording a career-best mark of 45’ 3.75” to claim the title. The put moved her up to fourth on the all-time top performers list, and the victory gave her automatic berths to the NCAA Regional and ECAC Championships. Classmate Ashley Williams (Williamsburg, Va.) was eighth with a put of 41’ 11.25”. In the discus, sophomore Rebecca Mikulas (Troutville, Va.) took sixth with a throw of 131’ 2”, and Morse was seventh with a toss of 127’ 3”.

The Tribe put the title on ice in the 3,000m steeplechase. Junior Emily Arena (Manassas, Va.) won the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Regional with a huge personal-best of 10:54.25. Bettering her previous best by over 32 seconds, Arena also qualified for the ECAC Championships, and joined her brother Anthony ’07 as CAA steeple champs for W&M. Graney, who has already qualified to the regional, was second in 10:54.51.

William and Mary returns to action next weekend at the world-famous Penn Relay Carnival, April 24-26 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

19th Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Track and Field Championships
1. WILLIAM AND MARY 162
2. Northeastern 122.50
3. James Madison 116
4. Georgia State 97
5. George Mason 85
6. UNC Wilmington 80
7. Delaware 74.50
8. Towson 53
9. Virginia Commonwealth 28