The William and Mary women's track and field team swept the year-end awards from the Colonial Athletic Association Monday, winning Athlete, Rookie, and Coach of the Year in a vote of the league's coaches.  It was the third time that W&M has swept the awards, alongside 2008 and 2009, and the fifth time in league history that it has been done (also in 1994 and 1995 by George Mason).  When taken alongside Natalie Baird '13 winning Field Athlete of the Championships, the Tribe collected four of the six major awards given in the sport.

Junior Elaina Balouris (Allison Park, Pa.) was tabbed as Athlete of the Year, after earning All-America honors for the second year in a row.  At the CAA Championships in early May, she was runner-up in both the 1,500m and the 5,000m, helping lead the Tribe to its first team championship since 2010.  Reaching the NCAA semifinals in the 10,000m, Balouris broke the school record with her 33:43.26 showing and advanced to the finals in Oregon, where she would place 10th overall and claim second-team All-America honors.  The junior also held the W&M 5,000m record outdoors after running 16:03 at the Colonial Relays in early April, and was All-East indoors at 3,000m.  Last fall, Balouris was 13th at the NCAA Championships in cross country for another All-American award, and was the CAA individual champion and Athlete of the Year.  She is the fourth Tribe athlete to be named Athlete of the Year in track and field, and the first so honored since Emily Anderson '11 won back-to-back awards in 2008 and 2009.

All-everything Emily Stites (Wyoming, Ohio) added another trophy to her collection, being named the Rookie of the Year.  Also the Rookie of the Year in cross country, Stites is just the second woman in conference history to win both freshman awards, joining East Carolina's Suzanne Bellamy (1995-96).  During the track seasons, the freshman ran the world's fastest indoor 5,000m for junior women (19 and under) at 16:05.71, as well as the nation's fastest junior times outdoors in both the 5,000m (15:45.31) and 10,000m (34:15.49).  Her 5,000m performance not only broke the school record, but was also the fifth-fastest time ever for an American junior; while her 10,000m performance won the CAA title.  Advancing to the NCAA finals, Stites was tripped on the final lap but still managed to get up and finish 10th overall for her second All-America honor of the year (also 26th at the NCAA cross country meet).  Last week at the USAT&F Junior Championships, she won the 5,000m by more than 47 seconds, and just missed setting the meet record with her 16:13, qualifying for the Pan-Am Junior Games this August.  It was Stites' second national championship of the year, after she also won the USAT&F Junior cross country title in February.  She is the fifth woman in school history to be named CAA Rookie of the Year in track and field, and the first since Natalie Baird won it in 2009.

Director of Track and Field Stephen Walsh was named the league's Coach of the Year, after directing the Tribe women to their first CAA title since 2010.  W&M athletes won five conference championships - including meet-records in the 5,000m and 10,000m as well as three of the four throwing events - and had a total of 10 indviduals and the 4x400m relay earn all-conference honors.  Four women advanced to the NCAA Championships, and two earned All-America honors.  Walsh becomes the first coach in conference history to be named Coach of the Year three times in a single school year, and the first to ever win both men's and women's track and field honors, much less in the same season.

2013 Colonial Athletic Association Women's Track and Field Honors
Athlete of the Year: Elaina Balouris, William and Mary
Rookie of the Year: Emily Stites, William and Mary
Track Athlete of the Championships: Victoria Caruso, Delaware
Field Athlete of the Championships: Natalie Baird, William and Mary and Amira Idris, Delaware
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Katie Gorman, James Madison
Coach of the Year: Stephen Walsh, William and Mary