The William & Mary women's track & field team had a record-setting day on Saturday to close out the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, breaking three school records and a freshman record while picking up a pair of gold medal performances.  The Tribe finished fifth overall in the team standings with 83 points, ahead of James Madison in sixth (71), UNCW (52.5, 7th), College of Charleston (13, 8th), and Hofstra (6 points in their CAA Championships debut).  Elon claimed the team title with 191.5 points, ahead of Towson with 174 points and Delaware in third with 130 points.  Northeastern finished out the team standings in fourth, with 97 points.

- In the heptathlon, redshirt-sophomore Claire Bailey (Fairfax, Va.) opened up her day with a jump of 4.71m (15-5.5) in the long jump for eighth overall, and then dominated the javelin with a throw of 34.89m (113-6), just off her all-time best.  That was the best throw in the field by nearly eight feet, and vaulted her all the way up to fifth in the team standings.  In the final event of the weekend, the 800m, she ran a lifetime-best 2:28.74 for third overall, and in the final standings for the heptathlon, Bailey tied for fourth overall with 4,308 points.

- In the women's 4x100m, W&M earned All-CAA honors for the first time since 2005, taking third and breaking the school record at 46.67 seconds.  Grad student Gabby Runge (Midlothian, Va.) led the team off, before handing off to Felecia Hayes (Chesapeake, Va.), Jadyn Currie (Virginia Beach, Va.), and Chelsea Mitchell (Canton, Conn.).  That broke the record of 46.77 set two weeks ago on this same track.

- The 1,500m run saw freshman Kyra Holland (Warrenton, Va.) ran a lifetime-best 4:30.44, finishing in fifth place overall for four more team points.

- Currie came back from outstanding run in the relay to finish seventh overall in the 100m hurdles, clearing the course in 15.13 seconds and picking up two more team points.

- In the 400m dash, freshman Mary Gregory (Reston, Va.) made history as the first Tribe woman to ever win the 400m dash, timing 55.40 to win in a sprint down the home stretch.  That broke the freshman record of 55.50 set back in 2013, and was also the second-fastest race ever for W&M.  Gregory's classmate Grace Bir (Falls Church, Va.) was third overall in a personal-best 55.92, the 15th-fastest race ever for W&M, and the grad student Runge was fifth in a personal-best 56.31 seconds.  Bir now ranks ninth all-time among Tribe athletes, while Runge now ranks 11th in program history in the event.

- After becoming the first sprinter in school history under 12 seconds yesterday in prelims of the 100m dash with a very wind-aided 11.96 (+5.1), the senior Hayes came back in the finals today to prove it was no one-hit wonder.  Into a stiff head-wind (-1.7), Hayes ran 12.04 seconds to set the wind-legal school record, and finished fourth overall, the best finish ever for W&M in the women's 100m at the CAA Championships.

- In the 400m hurdles, grad student Josie Landis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) closed out her career on a high note, running a lifetime-best 1:03.38 for fourth overall.  That improved Landis to ninth in school history in the event.

- Hayes came back for her third race of the day in the 200m dash, and made even more history.  She ran a lifetime-best 24.26, the second-fastest time in school history, and finished second overall.  Hayes is the first Tribe sprinter to ever be named All-CAA in either the 100m or the 200m.

- In the triple jump, redshirt-junior Taylor E. Jones (Fairfax Station, Va.) added another team point to the tally, finishing eighth with a leap of 11.72m (38-5.5).

- The pole vault saw freshman Elizabeth Upright (Oakton, Va.) clear the bar at a collegiate-best height of 3.50m (11-5.75) for 13th overall.  That improves her to 15th all-time outdoors at W&M.

- In the 5,000m, the freshman Holland added another team point, finishing eighth in 17:29.87.

- The final event was the 4x400m relay, where the Tribe won gold for the first time since 2005 in a school-record time of 3:46.48.  Runge led things off and gave W&M a slight lead at the first hand-off, a lead that Bir ruthlessly exploited to put the Tribe ahead by almost 50m.  Carly Swierbut (Newtown, Conn.) maintained the advantage, and Gregory anchored the team to her second gold of the day, and a school-record by nearly half a second over the mark of 3:46.94 set at the 2019 Colonial Relays.

Next up for W&M is the NCAA Eastern Preliminaries, May 26-29 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.  The top 48 individuals in each event will earn a spot at the prelims, which function as the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships.

2021 Colonial Athletic Association Women's Track & Field Championships
Final Standings
1. Elon 191.5
2. Towson 174
3. Delaware 130
4. Northeastern 97
5. William & Mary 83
6. James Madison 71
7. UNCW 52.5
8. College of Charleston 13
9. Hofstra 6