A pair of wins in the field events lifted the William and Mary men's track and field team to first place at the end of the first day of the Colonial Athletic Association Championships in Harrisonburg, Va.  The Tribe scored 67 points, ahead of Northeastern (63) and UNCW (56).  Friday's events included six finals, two prelims, and the first half of the decathlon.

Complete Results

Javelin
The first event of the day was the javelin throw, where freshman Tucker Rizzi (Westport, Conn.) scored an upset win to continue the Tribe's winning streak in the event.  Rizzi threw the spear 58.15m (190-9), nearly 12 feet better than his previous best this season, and improved to 10th in school history.  A W&M thrower has now won six championships in a row in the javelin, and 13 of the last 15.  Redshirt-junior Mark Moran (McLean, Va.) also took to the runway for the first-time ever, and earned an upset of his own throwing 36.09m (118-5) for fifth place and an additional two points.

Pole Vault
In the pole vault, sophomore Derek O'Connell (Virginia Beach, Va.) took his fourth win in five meets this spring, and earned his first conference title with an easy clearance of 4.80m (15-9).  O'Connell's win marks the second year in a row that the Tribe has won the men's pole vault.  Freshman Alex Hedrick (Falls Church, Va.) jumped 4.35m (14-3.25), and earned a fifth-place finish for two points.

Hammer Throw
Rounding out the field events was the hammer throw, where sophomore Taylor Frenia (Virginia Beach, Va.) finished second with a lifetime-best toss of 52.05m (170-9).  An improvement of more than four feet over his best, Frenia now ranks eighth in school history in the event.  Senior Matt Renn (Annandale, Va.) was fifth with a throw of 42.35m (138-11).

10,000m Run
In the 10,000m, senior Rad Gunzenhauser (Pittsburgh, Pa.) took second overall and qualified for the IC4A Championships with a time of 30:38.99.  Freshman Trevor Sleight (Asheville, N.C.) also earned all-conference honors with a third-place finish in 31:24.78, while sophomores Ryan Gousse (Apopka, Fla.) and Nathan Thomas (Brentwood, Tenn.) finished fourth and fifth in 32:11.78 and 32:12.22.

5,000m Run
Earlier in the evening, the Tribe had eight men run in the 5,000m, finishing 3-10.  Leading the way was redshirt-sophomore Nathaniel Hermsmeier (Charlottesville, Va.), named All-CAA after finishing third in 14:58.96.  Sleight was fourth in 15:06.86, and redshirt-freshman David Barney (Lynchburg, Va.) was fifth in 15:09.81.  Freshman Faris Sakallah (Chantilly, Va.) rounded out the scorers, placing sixth in 15:14.12.

800m Run
There were only two preliminary heats contested on Friday, and W&M had men advance in both events.  Four of them came in the 800m, led by senior David Gunnerson (Yorktown, Va.) and sophomore Ricky Cappetta (Stafford, Va.) in fourth and fifth, 1:54.63 and 1:55.08, respectively.  Also advancing were two freshmen who ran collegiate-best times.  Michael Wilkens (Woodbury, N.H.) was eighth overall in 1:56.38, and Ryan Thomas (Fairfield, Conn.) ran 1:59.74 for ninth place.

200m Dash
The final qualifier came in the 200m dash, where freshman Troy Sevachko (Centreville, Va.) timed 23.50 in his first attempt at the 200m to take ninth place overall.  Sophomore Jomar Aryee (Hillside, N.J.) also ran a lifetime-best in the event, finishing 11th in 23.89 seconds.

The CAA Championships conclude on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.

2014 CAA Men's Track and Field Championships
Team Standings Through Six Events

1. William and Mary 67
2. Northeastern 63
3. UNCW 56