The William and Mary women's track and field team opened the Penn Relays on Thursday, picking up two ECAC qualifications and three personal-best marks.  Events in the afternoon and evening were delayed 90 minutes due to a line of thunderstorms that went through Philadelphia at noon.

3,000m Run
In the 3,000m, freshman Elaina Balouris (Allison Park, Pa.) cruised to a sixth-place finish in 9:36.34, easily coming in under the ECAC standard.  Her time also broke the College's freshman outdoor record, set back at the 1997 Penn Relays by Kathy Newberry '00 (9:38.13), and was a lifetime-best by just over a second.  On W&M's outdoor lists, Balouris now ranks as the sixth-fastest athlete ever, and her race was the 11th-fastest ever run.

5,000m Run
In the 5,000m championship section, freshman Kathleen Lautzenheiser (Midlothian, Va.) tuned up for next weeks' CAA Championships with an easy 17:12.52, coming in under the ECAC barrier for the second time.  Junior Sara Lasker (Fredericksburg, Va.) ran in the Olympic Development section, improving her personal-best by over four seconds to finish in 17:24.49.

Pole Vault
In the pole vault, which began first thing in the morning but didn't finish until after the storms had passed through, freshman Nicole Dory (Fort Worthy, Texas) tied her outdoor-best with a vault of 3.50 meters (11-5.75).  Dory solidified her position on the CAA list at fifth for next week's championships, where she is a threat to score in the pole vault, long jump, and triple jump.

The Penn Relays continue for W&M Saturday at 2 p.m., with the 4x800m Relay Championship of America.