April 16, 2004

Richmond, Va. - The Colonial Athletic Association's track and field championships got underway on Friday afternoon and the women's team established itself as a force that will have to be reckoned with as the Patriots placed four athletes in the long jump and finished the first day in third with 50 points, one point out of second. William & Mary leads with 71 points.

Alyce Williams won the triple jump title with a leap of 5.63 meters, with teammates Corri Allen (5.61 meters) and Kim Morgan (5.60 meters) finishing second and third, respectively. Aisha Williams finished sixth with a jump of 5.43 meters.

It was a long day for Morgan, Louis and Aisha Williams as all three competed in the heptathlon as well. Four of the heptathlon's seven events were held on Friday with Morgan finishing the day in first place. She won the 200-meters to finish the day to move into the top spot. Aisha Williams was fourth after the first day. Louis was second in the 200 and first in the shot put and she is seventh while Kathy Williams is eighth. Also competing in the heptathlon was Sara Hines. Hines tied for first in the high jump and she stands in 11th heading into Saturday.

In the 10,000-meter run, the women were unable to add any points as Nicole Holifield was 13th, Julia Gaudet was 15th and Rose Moeser was 18th.

The first day wasn't as strong for the men, but they did have tally 13 of their 15 points in the long jump. Marc Kellman scratched more jumps than he landed but he was still able to finish second in the event with a leap of 7.27 meters. Teammate Ryan McCoy finished fourth in the long jump with a distance of 7.08 meters. Quentin Matthews added two points in the javelin, The men's team stands at sixth with 15 points, trailing William & Mary, which has 71.5 points.

The action at the CAA Championships resumes on Saturday morning with the heptathlon at 9:30 a.m. That's when the long jump portion of the event begins with Morgan, Louis and Aisha Williams as favorites to win the event. The javelin and 800-meters come later in the day.