The William and Mary men's track and field team had an extremely fruitful day at the Mason Spring Invitational on Saturday, collecting five IC4A qualifications, four of them coming in field events. The Tribe also had seven all-time best performances on the day, including several that were the best in a decade or more.
Complete ResultsShot Put
In the shot put, sophomore
Brian Waterfield (Chesapeake, Va.) took fifth overall with a put of 16.01 meters (52-6.5), the best performance for a Tribe athlete since the 2004 IC4A Championships. Waterfield qualified for the IC4A Championships with the put, and improved to ninth all-time at W&M. Freshman
Taylor Frenia (Virginia Beach, Va.) also had a lifetime-best in the event, placing seventh with a put of 15.90m (52-2). Frenia also qualified for the IC4A Championships, and improved to 11th in school history.
200m Dash
The most notable running performance came in the 200m dash, where freshman
Bob Smutsky (Dillsburg, Pa.) ran 21.68 seconds to qualify for the IC4A Championships, where no Tribe sprinter has run since 1985. Smutsky's time is the ninth-fastest race in school history, and ranks him sixth all-time among athletes. It is the fastest performance for a Tribe sprinter since 1993, and the fastest for a freshman since 1982.
Javelin Throw
Smutsky also qualified for the IC4A Championships in the javelin, with a collegiate-best throw of 62.80m (206-0) to place fourth. The throw ranks him fourth all-time at W&M.
Pole Vault
The final IC4A qualification came in the pole vault, where
freshman
Austin Vegas (Kernersville, N.C.) once again cleared the qualifying height of 4.80m (15-9) and placed second overall. This is the third time in the last four meets that Vegas has managed 4.80m. Classmate
Derek O'Connell (Virginia Beach, Va.) improved his collegiate-best to 4.70m (15-5) in taking fourth place, and improved to 11th all-time outdoors at W&M with the clearance.
Hammer Throw
In the hammer, Frenia improved his lifetime-best to 46.22m (151-8), and now ranks 16th in school history.
William and Mary is back in action next week, with elements of the team split between the Mt. SAC Relays in California and the New Captain's Classic in Newport News, Va.
