The William and Mary men's track and field team broke one of the oldest school records on the book Friday night at the Fred Hardy Invitational, on a day when the field athletes ran wild. The Tribe earned a pair of IC4A qualifiers, and set or tied four personal-bests in the process.
Complete ResultsIn the men's pole vault which continued far into the night, redshirt-freshman
Derek O'Connell (Virginia Beach, Va.) shattered the Tribe's outdoor and overall school records, becoming the first man to take over the top of the record book in more than 40 years. O'Connell cleared the bar at a height of 5.10m (16-8.75), surpassing the outdoor record of 16-6 set by
Charles Strode '72 at the 1972 IC4A Championships. It is also higher than the overall record of 16-8.5 set by
Dave Lipinski '78 at the 1977 IC4A indoor Championships. O'Connell currently ranks among the top 15 collegiate vaulters in the country, and also qualified for the IC4A Championships with his sixth vault over 16 feet this year.
In the throws, sophomore
Taylor Frenia (Virginia Beach, Va.) re-qualified for the IC4A shot put and set a lifetime-best in the hammer throw. In the shot, Frenia recorded a put of 15.82m (51-11) to finish second overall, and break the IC4A qualifying standard yet again. In the hammer, Frenia picked up another silver medal, this time with a personal-best effort of 50.60m (166-0), improving to ninth all-time at W&M.
Also of note, freshmen performed admirably in the pole vault alongside O'Connell.
Lucas Wratschko (Fairfax, Va.) tied his best height of 4.65m (15-3) to take third, confirming his ranking as the 13th-highest vaulter in school history.
Michael Wilkens (Woodbury, N.Y.) set a personal-best by more than four inches with his clearance at 4.35m (14-3.25), matching the height of
Alex Hedrick (Falls Church, Va.). W&M now has four active vaulters who have cleared 14 feet or better for the first time since 1972.
William and Mary is back in action tomorrow as the Fred Hardy Invitational continues, starting with the discus at 9 a.m.
