West Virginia track and field athletes Tait, Williamson close season at NCAA East Preliminary
By Joseph Smith
A pair of West Virginia track and field athletes finished their season at the NCAA East Preliminary this past weekend. And despite missing out on joining teammate Mikenna Vanderheyden in advancing to the NCAA Championship, both women finished their season strong with season best marks in their events.
Redshirt junior Cassandra Williamson took 15th-overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 3.49 seconds, which allowed her to set a new program record for a third time this season.
"Cassandra continues to bring her A game to races that matter the most," WVU head coach Sean Cleary said. "This marks the third school record for her at a major championship this year."
Joining Vanderheyden in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, redshirt senior Sarah Tait narrowly missed a trip to the NCAA Championship by one spot, finishing 13th-overall by crossing the line with a season-best of 10 minutes, 8.86 seconds.
"Sarah stepped up big time today to finish in the dreaded place of missing the final race by one spot," Cleary said. "To see how far she has come in three weeks is a testimony to her mental strength and willingness to put it all out on the line with a less than ideal build up."