Led by a school record from senior All-American Elaina Balouris (Allison Park, Pa.), the William and Mary women's track and field team began the 2014 campaign Saturday with seven ECAC qualifications at the CNU Holiday Open.  In total, the Tribe had nine new entries into the record books.  Among the six Division I teams represented at the meet, W&M finished fourth with 106 points and three event victories.

Complete Results

3,000m Run
Coming into the meet, all eyes were on the 3,000m and the Tribe did not disappoint, sweeping the first 14 spots.  The top six athletes all broke the ECAC qualifying barrier, and all went 9:54.28 or better to make it the fastest single race in school history.  Balouris led the way in 9:23.03, breaking Ali Henderson's '04 old mark of 9:23.20 set 10 years ago.  Sophomore All-American Emily Stites (Wyoming, Ohio) was second overall in a career-best 9:24.70, a time that is both the fourth-fastest ever indoors and ranks her No. 4 all-time among Tribe athletes.  Classmate Meghan McGovern (North Wales, Pa.) also went a career-best 9:41.13 for third place, improving to 12th in school history, and junior Dylan Hassett (Alpharetta, Ga.) was fourth in 9:43.95.  Senior Michelle Britto (Woodbridge, Va.) earned her qualifying mark in 9:53.04, and redshirt-freshman Erica Amatori (Cary, N.C.) rounded out the qualifiers in 9:54.28 for sixth place.  Fellow NCAA veteran Carolyn Hennessey (Herndon, Va.) ran 10:14.23 for seventh place and two team points, and true freshman Molly Applegate (Toms River, N.J.) made her collegiate debut with an eighth-place 10:24.08.

Shot Put
Also earning an ECAC qualifying mark was sophomore Rochelle Evans (Christiansburg, Va.) with her runner-up performance in the shot put.  The CAA Champion in the event last May, Evans had a monster put of 14.18 meters (46-6.25), a career-best indoors and the third-best showing ever for a Tribe thrower.  Evans now ranks third all-time in the event at W&M.

800m Run
Victory came in the 800m run thanks to sophomore Claire Tito (Richmond, Va.), who ran 2:17.19 for the win in her first-ever attempt at the distance.  Junior Heather Clagett (Norfolk, Va.) was fifth overall in 2:21.38, and sophomore Shelby Feliciano (Winchester, Va.) was sixth in 2:22.20.  Also scoring points were sophomore Felicia Hammer (Monroe, N.H.), ninth in 2:26.27, as well as sophomore Sarah Garratt (Bluffton, S.C.), 13th overall in 2:28.87.

Pole Vault
The Tribe's third win of the day came courtesy of junior Elizabeth Crafford (Darien, Conn.), who won the pole vault at 3.59m (11-9.25).  Just one centimeter shy of the ECAC qualifying standard, the performance was Crafford's fifth career victory.

Weight Throw
Evans also performed at a career-best level in the weight throw, finishing sixth overall with a throw of 15.04m (49-4.25).  That toss improves her to sixth in school history among athletes.  Senior Erin Challis (Toano, Va.) also set her career-best in the event, taking seventh at 13.29m (43-7.25) to rank ninth in school history.

Other Scorers
The Tribe earned 12 more team points in three events.  In the high jump, freshman Meredith Meyer (Titusville, N.J.) scored three points after clearing the bar at 1.47m (4-9.75), good for a tie at 13th place.  Classmate Susannah Philbrick (Salem, Ore.) was just two centimeters away from her lifetime-best in the triple jump, hitting the sand at 10.49m (34-5).  She also earned three points, and placed seventh overall.  Finally, the 4x400m relay of Feliciano, Tito, Hammer, and freshman Laura Klosterman (New Market, Md.) combined to run 4:08.19, good for 11th place overall and six points.

Today's meet was the final outing of the semester for William and Mary, which now turns its attention to final exams.  The next competition for the Green and Gold will come on Jan. 17-18, at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.