W&M Women's Track and Field Earns Six Qualifiers Saturday at George Mason

Natalie Baird Breaks Own Records in Discus

05/02/09 9:45PM

FAIRFAX, VA - The William and Mary women's track and field team picked up six post-season qualifications Saturday at the George Mason Invitational, including two to the NCAA Regional and three qualifiers to the ECAC Championships. There are just two weeks left before the ECAC meet, May 15-17, and one month to go until the NCAA Regional.

Complete Results

Discus
Freshman Natalie Baird (Sterling, Va.) continued her sterling campaign, winning the discus and surpassing her own school and freshman records with a throw of 156-7 (47.72 meters). Baird qualified for the NCAA Regional, ECAC Championships, and the U.S. Junior Championships with the effort.

Hammer Throw
Junior Ashley Williams (Williamsburg, Va.) won the hammer with a throw of 157-6 (48.01m), and was followed in the standings by Baird, who reset the W&M freshman record with a throw of 156-3 (47.63m) that just missed the qualifying standard for the U.S. Junior Championships (48m).

Shot Put
Junior Carly Morse (Sumerduck, Va.) put the shot 44-4 (13.51m) to take third in the shot put, just about three inches off of the ECAC qualifying distance. Williams finished fourth, putting the shot 43-5.25 (13.19m).

Pole Vault
Junior Nicole Kazuba (Chantilly, Va.) continued to jump well, just below her personal-best to win today's event at a height of 12-11.5 (3.95m) ahead of runner-up Emily Jeremiah (Mechanicsville, Va.) who cleared the bar at 11-11.75 (3.65m). Both vaulters qualified for the ECAC Championships, while Kazuba also surpassed the standard for the NCAA Regional.

Long Jump
Sophomore Katie Guevel (Burlington, Kan.) was fifth in the long jump in her first competition since winning the CAA heptathlon two weeks ago, leaping 16-5.25 (5.01m).

100m Dash
Guevel also showed her talent in the sprints, qualifying to the finals of the 100m dash with a time of 12.54 seconds in the preliminaries as the fourth-seed. The sophomore improved her performance in the finals, taking third in 12.49 seconds, just off her personal-best of 12.47 seconds set last season.

800m Run
Junior Kelly McElroy (Wyomissing, Pa.) continued to battle at the ECAC standard in the 800m, coming in just over the time needed with her 2:11.79 third-place finish. She will have one more shot at making the standard next week.

1,500m Run
Sophomore Meredith Tighe (Oak Hill, Va.) was fourth in the 1,500m, lowering her personal-record by more than two seconds to 4:47.12.

5,000m Run
The Tribe's sole victory on the track came courtesy of junior Sallie Ford (Lynchburg, Va.), who won the 5,000m in 17:46.47 and improved her personal-best by more than four seconds. Freshman Sara Lasker (Fredericksburg, Va.) also improved her personal-record time, finishing second in 18:19.20, and junior Robin Vanneman (Stafford, Va.) ran 19:04.20 for fourth place.

The Tribe has one more chance at ECAC qualifying marks when it travels to North Carolina next Friday, May 8, for the Tarheel Last-Chance meet.