LEXINGTON, Va. – Behind four event victories and a school-record set by freshman Meghan Wilcox in the 60-meters, the Elon University women's track and field team opened with a strong start on day one at the VMI Relays on Friday, Jan. 28, inside the CPTF-Corps Physical Training Facility.
 
Along with the four wins, the Phoenix also had athletes post the best times in the preliminary round in a couple of events including Wilcox with her record-breaking performance in the 60-meters. The Cedar Park, Texas, native clocked a time of 7.64 in the semifinal round of the race, qualifying for the final round tomorrow. Jordan Haywood also joins Wilcox in the finals after coming in sixth in the semifinals with her time of 7.84.
 
In the weight throw, Kaitlin McGoogan took the win for the Phoenix after nearly breaking her own school-record with a toss of 18.13m. Lauryn Carlton finished fourth overall with her new personal-best throw of 17.13m.
 
Madison George won the pole vault after outlasting the competition with a cleared height of 3.80m. Aliya Barrows was the winner in the 400-meters with her time of 57.67 with Piper Jons coming in as the runner-up with a time of 57.87.
 
Elon's final event win of the day came in the 4x800-meters as the Phoenix earned gold. The quartet of Stephanie Lair, Jette Beermann, Hannah Preeo, and Anna Twomey ran a time of 9:10.29 – fourth-best time in school history – and qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Indoor Championships.
 
Alyssa Sandy posted a season-best time of 8.73 in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles. That time was the fastest in the preliminary round as the graduate student preps for the finals tomorrow.
 
On Deck
The second and final day of the VMI Winter Relays is scheduled to begin tomorrow, Jan. 29, with events starting at 10:25 a.m. with the women's mile run.