The William & Mary women's track & field team got off to a very strong start on Friday in a friendly dual at Navy, winning four events in its first competition of the indoor season.  In addition to the Tribe's four wins, W&M athletes also broke a freshman record and had 11 new entries in the all-time top marks lists.  In total, the Tribe had 12 freshmen make their collegiate debuts in the meet.

500m Dash
Two of those rookies making big moves were in the 500m dash, where Makenzie Joiner (Mechanicsville, Va.) won the race in a lifetime-best 1:14.72.  That broke the Tribe freshman record that had stood since 2013, and was also tied for the 15th-fastest single race is school history.  Joiner now ranks seventh in school history after just one race.  Right behind her was her classmate Grace Bir (Falls Church, Va.), second in 1:15.84 to rank 12th all-time at W&M, while senior Josie Landis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was sixth in 1:21.44.

Mile Run
The freshman class also produced a sweep of the top three spots in the mile run, led by Kyra Holland (Warrenton, Va.) who ran 5:01.82 for the win.  Lily Schlossberg (Virginia Beach, Va.) was second in 5:05.29, and Annie Wicker (Sewickley, Pa.) completed the sweep in 5:07.64 for third.

200m Dash
In the 200m, sophomore Amaya Johnson (Sterling, Va.) ran a strong personal best in 24.85 seconds for the win.  That was the sixth-fastest race in school history, and ranks Johnson second all-time among Tribe athletes.

3,000m Run
The fourth and final win of the day came in the last race, the 3,000m, where senior Lauren Finikiotis (Gibsonia, Pa.) led four Tribe runners in the top six.  Finikiotis ran a personal-best 10:12.48 for the win, while redshirt-freshman Olivia Haller (Round Hill, Va.) ran her first race in a W&M uniform in 10:34.49 for third overall.  Senior Megan Kolbe (Doylestown, Pa.) was fourth in 10:35.14, and true freshman Emily Morris (Glen Allen, Va.) was sixth in 10:45.89 in her first collegiate race.

60m Dash
The sophomore Johnson also had a strong race in the 60m dash, where she finished second in 7.88 seconds, just one one-hundredth off her best with the 12th-fastest race in school history.  Freshman Chelsea Mitchell (Canton, Conn.) was fourth in 7.97 seconds to rank eighth all-time among W&M athletes, and her classmate Megan Heidebrecht (Amissville, Va.) was sixth in 8.14 seconds in her first-ever 60m dash.

Long Jump
Earlier in the afternoon, Heidebrecht made a strong debut in the Green and Gold, taking fourth in the long jump and tying her personal-best with a leap of 5.40m (17-8.75).  That ranks her 14th all-time at W&M.

400m Dash
Freshman Mary Gregory (Reston, Va.) was second overall in her first collegiate appearance, running 57.94 seconds for the 400m dash.  That ranks her 10th all-time among W&M athletes.  Sophomore Carly Swierbut (Newtown, Conn.) was right behind her in 58.55 seconds for third overall.

Pole Vault
In the pole vault, senior Taylor E. Jones (Fairfax Station, Va.) and freshman Olesya Sitkowski (Phoenixville, Pa.) both cleared the bar at 3.52m (11-6.5), with Jones taking fourth and Sitkowski fifth on the basis of attempts.  For Sitkowski, it moved her up to a tie for 11th overall among Tribe athletes.  Freshman Elizabeth Upright (Oakton, Va.) was ninth overall, clearing a height of 3.22m (10-6.75) in her college debut.

Shot Put
Redshirt-sophomore heptathlete Claire Bailey (Fairfax, Va.) had a massive personal-best in the shot put, putting the shot 12.47m (40-11) for fourth place and an improvement of more than five feet on her previous best.  Bailey also improved to 16th on the all-time athletes list.

60m Hurdles
Earlier in the day, Bailey broke the rust off of nearly two years without competing by running 10.44 seconds for fifth place in the 60m hurdles.

1,000m Run
Rounding out the day for W&M was the 1,000m run, featuring a trio of sophomores.  Megan Dougherty (Sinking Spring, Pa.) led the way for the Tribe in 3:04.34 for seventh overall, while Kaycee Cox-Philyaw (Linden, Va.) was eighth in 3:11.19 and Anna Cestari (Washington, D.C.) was ninth in 3:15.18.

William & Mary is back in action next weekend, Feb. 12-13, traveling to Lynchburg, Va., for the Darius Dixon Memorial Meet.