William & Mary grad student Molly Applegate (Toms River, N.J.) brought her illustrious career to a close on Friday night at the NCAA Championships, finishing 34th overall in the Eastern Quarterfinals of the 3,000m steeplechase.  Applegate ran 10:32.34, the 11th-fastest race in school history, and the third-fastest race of her career.

Applegate leaves W&M with a strong legacy, including a pair of NCAA qualifications and one of just four women in any event to ever qualify in non-consecutive years.  After earning her degree in kinesiology last May, Applegate came back this year to finish out her career with her best year ever, including the 2018 CAA Championship in the steeplechase.  She also won the Colonial Relays, and set a lifetime-best by running 10:20.07, the second-fastest race in school history, at the Stimson Memorial Quad Meet.  Applegate's career also included three All-CAA honors in cross country and three All-East performances on the track, highlighted by a second-place finish in the ECAC Championship mile indoors this past winter.  She earned her Master's of Science in Business Analytics this year, and graduates ranked second in school history in the indoor mile (4:45.18) and the 3,000m steeplechase, as well as eighth in the outdoor 1,500m, sixth in the indoor DMR, and fourth in the outdoor 4x1,500m relay.

William & Mary continues competition at the NCAA Eastern Preliminaries on Saturday morning, with senior Leia Mistowski (Narragansett, R.I.) in the hammer throw at 8:45 a.m.  Mistowski is looking to advance to the NCAA Finals and earn All-America honors for the second year in a row.