William & Mary Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Alex Heacock '09 announced the addition of 10 freshmen to the Tribe's women's roster today, bringing an immediate boost to W&M's squad for the 2019-20 school year.  The class covers nearly every event group, including five middle- and long-distance prospects who will also join the cross country team this fall, as well as two throwers, two sprinters, and one jumper.
 
"Our coaching staff worked diligently to put together an impact class for our women's squad, and I think that definitely shows with the level of talent that we have added this fall," Heacock said. "Comprised of all-state performers, state champions, and nationally-ranked athletes, we are very excited to see this class of young women develop and elevate the profile of our program in the coming years."
 
Anna Cestari – Middle Distance
Washington, D.C./St. John's College HS
 
800m – 2:19; 1,600m – 5:20
 
Prep
Led St. John's College HS to back-to-back conference championships in both cross country and track & field her final two years ... Helped win three D.C. "state" team championships over her final five semesters, track & field in 2017 and 2019, and cross country in 2017 ... Individually, named all-conference in cross country as a junior and as a senior ... MVP of the team in 2017 ... Won the D.C. title in the 1,600m, 4x400m, and 4x800m as a sophomore in 2017 ... Added another D.C. championship in the 4x800m as a senior in 2018 ... AP Scholar ... Member of the National Honor Society ... Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper ... Participated in the Harvard Model Congress ... Class secretary in her freshman and sophomore years.

Personal
Daughter of Kimberly and Kenneth Cestari ... Fourth member of her family to attend W&M ... Mother graduated in 1993 ... Grandfather, Wade Johnson, was a member of the class of 1963 ... Great-uncle, Roy Charles, graduated from W&M back in 1932 ... Enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, cooking, and baking ... Plans to major in Environmental Studies.
 

Kaycee Cox-Philyaw – Distance
Linden, Va./Millbrook
 
800m – 2:22.87; 1,000m – 3:04.51; Mile – 5:08.55; 3,200m – 11:13.06
 
Prep
Three-time all-state runner at Millbrook ... Named all-state in the 1,600m at each of the last three Virginia state track & field championships (outdoors in 2018 and 2019, and indoors in 2019) ... Won the district title in the 1,600m indoors each of the last two years and outdoors as a senior ... Also won the district title in the 1,000m indoors and the 800m outdoors in 2019 as well ... 1,000m regional champion indoors in 2019 ... In cross country, finished second in the district as a senior ... All-district and all-region her junior year as well ... Earned district all-academic honors every season in high school ... President of the National Honor Society.

Personal
Daughter of Kellie Cox-Philyaw and Thomas Philyaw ... Brother, Tyler, is a senior at W&M and formerly ran on the men's cross country and track & field teams ... Father ran cross country and track at George Mason ... Cousin, Lonnie Warwick, played for a decade in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons ... Enjoys cooking, hiking, and reading ... Plans to major in computer science.
 

Megan Dougherty – Middle Distance
Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson
 
400m – 1:01.34; 800m – 2:19.16
 
Prep
Earned all-state honors in track & field as a senior ... Helped Wilson win the district cross country title as a sophomore in 2016, and finish second in 2018 as a senior ... Named all-county and all-division in each of the last two years ... AP Scholar ... Member of the National Honor Society ... Earned Scholar All-America honors in 2019 ... Graduated summa cum laude ... Second-seat violinist in the orchestra ... Member of the Earth Club ... Also swam on the varsity swim team.

Personal
Daughter of Erin and John Dougherty ... Sister, Sydney, swims at Lehigh ... Enjoys playing the violin and the guitar, hiking, going to the beach, cooking, and reading ... Plans to major in biology.
 

Kristen Herr – Throws
Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg
 
Discus – 130-4; Javelin – 157-5
 
Prep
Runner-up at the 2019 PIAA State Championship in the javelin ... Second at the Penn Relays as a senior, throwing a league-record 157-5 ... Won her league title three times, setting the meet record at 142-1 as a sophomore in 2017 ... As a senior in 2019, won the district title with a record throw of 150-1 ... Captained the team each of her last two seasons ... Team MVP in both 2017 and 2019 ... In 2017, finished third in the district in the javelin, fifth in the shot put, and seventh in the discus ... High Honor Roll every semester in school ... Member of the National Honor Society ... Played the trumpet in the Concert Band for nine years ... Member of the Outdoor Club ... Volunteer with Interact each of the last three years.

Personal
Daughter of Debra and Troy Herr ... Will be the seventh member of her family to compete in college ... Father threw at Millersville before spending four years on the professional Highland Games circuit ... Uncle, Kurt Habecker, played soccer at NC State ... Aunt, Krista Crocetti, swam at UNCW ... Cousin, Derek Harr, played football at Susquehanna ... Another cousin, Colten Habecker, played soccer at SMU ... A third cousin, Silas Jenkins, played volleyball at North Greenville ... Enjoys cooking and baking, playing with her dog, working out, hiking outside, and watching movies ... Plans to major in kinesiology.
 

Amaya Johnson – Sprints
Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls
 
60m -7.8; 100m – 12.14; 200m – 24.43; 400m – 57.14
 
Prep
Won the 2018 USAT&F Junior Olympics in the 4x400m relay ... Bronze-medalist in the 400m dash at the 2018 AAU Indoor National Championships ... Totaled four all-state honors, two each in 2017 and 2018 ... Five-time all-region honoree .. Six-time all-district nominee ... Named the Potomac Falls team MVP in both 2017 and 2018 ... Vice President of the African American Student Union ... An award-winner guitarist, twice winning the Beatty Guitar Competition and one the Aguado Guitar Competition ... Member of the Key Club ... Member of the Future Healthcare Professionals.

Personal
Daughter of Jamila Wanza and Christopher Wanza ... Father played football at Southern Illinois ... Enjoys movies, listening to music, playing the guitar, and any activity if she's doing it with friends ... Plans to major in neuroscience.
 

Liliana Klemanski – Jumps
Cicero, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse
 
High Jump – 5-6
 
Prep
Won the New York state title in the high jump outdoors as a junior in 2018 ... Improved from fifth the year before ... Also a two-time state qualifier in the high jump indoors ... Founder and president of the debate club at CNS.

Personal
Daughter of Mary McClusky and Jeremy Klemanski ... Enjoys reading and playing the ukelele ... Plans to major in biology, with an eye towards a pre-med track.
 

Emma Rogers – Distance
Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley
 
1,600m – 5:20.01; 3,200m – 11:09.48
 
Prep
Led Hidden Valley to the Virginia 3A state cross country championships as a senior in 2018 ... Was the individual state runner-up in that race, after placing 13th as a sophomore and 11th as a junior ... Won the region title ... Named first-team All-Timesland by the Roanoke Times each of her last two years, after earning second-team honors as a freshman and sophomore ... Indoors, took 15th in the 5,000m at the New Balance Indoor Nationals ... Won the 3A state title in the 3,200m as a senior ... Also took fourth in the state in the 1,600m ... Region champion in both the 1,600m and the 3,200m in 2019, after winning the 1,600m in 2018 as well ... As a junior, finished second in the state at 3,200m and fourth on the 4x800m relay ... Outdoors, won the 3,200m state title each of her last two years ... Finished fourth in the 1,600m as a junior and third as a senior ... First all-state award came on Hidden Valley's seventh-place 4x800m relay as a freshman in 2016 ... Won region title at 1,600m in both 2018 and 2019, adding the 3,200m as a senior ... AP Scholar ... Member of Mu Alpha Theta, the Beta Club, English Honors, and the History Scholars ... Volunteer with the Roanoke Valley SPCA.

Personal
Daughter of Frances and John Rogers ... Father rowed crew at Hobart and William Smith College ... Cousin, Nick Dosky, played soccer at Hobart and William Smith College as well ... Enjoys doodling, playing guitar and piano, traveling, biking, and loves dogs ... Plans to major in kinesiology.
 

Hope Stephens – Middle Distance
Springfield, Va./West Springfield
 
800m – 2:14.37; 1,000m – 3:02.05; Mile – 5:04.92; 3,200m – 11:20.67
 
Prep
Earned eight all-state awards in two years at West Springfield ... Helped win the state title indoors in 4x800m each of the last two years ... Earned prep All-America honors in the 4x800m indoors as a junior in 2018 ... Led-off West Springfield's national runner-up DMR outdoors in 2018 as well ... Helped West Springfield earn runner-up honors at the Virginia state championships outdoors in 2018 and 2019 ... Finished 14th overall at the state cross country championships as a senior, helping West Springfield win the state team championship ... Also earned all-state honors in the 1,600m outdoors in 2019, in the 800m outdoors in 2018, and in the 1,000m indoors in 2018 ... Totaled seven all-district and all-region honors ... Competed as an equestrian for seven years as well, and still enjoys show jumping ... Won a high school non-fiction writing contest in 2016 ... AP Scholar with Distinction ... Graduated with honors ... Member of the National Honor Society ... Also a member of the Math Honor Society and the German Club ... Member of the National Society of High School Scholars.

Personal
Daughter of Faith and James Stephens ... Mother ran cross country and track & field at North Georgia ... Enjoy yoga, ice skating, beach volleyball, standup paddle-boarding, and spending time with my family ... Attended three different high schools in three different states in her four years ... Born in Frankfurt Am Main, Hessen, Germany ... Plans to major in physics.
 

Keeley Suzenski – Throws
Fleetwood, Pa./Berks Catholic
 
Shot Put – 48-2.5; Discus – 140-4
 
Prep
Runner-up both indoors and outdoors in the shot put at the New Balance Nationals as a senior in 2019 ... Also finished eighth outdoors in the shot put in 2018 ... Third at the Penn Relays ... Won the Pennsylvania state championship outdoors in 2019 ... State runner-up indoors as a junior ... Earned all-state honors in the discus as a senior, and in the shot put outdoors as a junior ... Swept the county and district titles in the shot put and the discus in 2019.

Personal
Daughter of Tracey and Joseph Suzenski ... Father played football at Delaware ... An uncle, Daniel Stedman, also played football at Delaware ... Sister, Danielle, played soccer at Kutztown ... Enjoys working out and spending time with friends and family ... Plans to major in business.
 

Carly Swierbut – Sprints
Newtown, Conn./Newtown
 
55m – 7.26; 100m – 12.2; 200m – 24.97; 300m – 40.48; 400m – 55.42
 
Prep
Connecticut state champion in the 400m as a junior in 2018 ... Named All-New England indoors in the 300m dash that year as well ... Won conference titles in the 55m, 100m, and 200m dash each of her last three years ... Also won the 300m and 400m as a junior and a senior ... Earned the conference Scholar-Athlete award in soccer, indoor track, and outdoor track each of her final three years ... Social Media director of the class council ... Member of the National Honor Society ... High Honor Roll all four years.

Personal
Daughter of Janet and Robert Swierbut ... Enjoys reading, writing, kayaking, and spending time with her family ... Plans to major in neuroscience.