April 27, 2003
PHILADELPHIA, PA ... The George Mason University men's and women's track & field teams turned in eight top-10 finishes at the 109th running of the prestigious Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field over the weekend. The event drew 39,783 spectators -- the fourth-largest crowd in the history of the Penn Relays -- over a three-day period despite chilly and damp weather.
The Patriots found success in both the individual and relay events. The men were led by sophomore Richard Phillips (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Ardenne/Abilene Christian) with a third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in the NCAA regional qualifying time of 51.69 seconds. Senior Serge Bengono (Yaounde, Cameroon/Younde) also finished in the top 10, placing seventh in the 100 meters in 10.62 seconds.
In the field events junior Wayne Wright (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) posted a season-best and NCAA regional qualifying performance of 6 feet, 9.5 inches to finish runner-up in the Eastern Division of the men's high jump. Sophomore Jonathan Martin (Fairfax, VA/Bishop O'Connell/Cal State Fullerton) placed third in the event with a season-best 6-foot, 8.25 inch mark.
Junior Kim Morgan (Houston, TX/Alief Hastings) led the women's team in the field events, finishing ninth in the Eastern Division of the long jump with a season-best leap of 19 feet, 0.75 inches. Junior Corri Allen (Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek) placed 17th in the event with an 18-foot, 3.25-inch performance.
In the relays the men's 4x400-meter relay finished second in their preliminary heat in 3:09.92 and went on to place third in the IC4A Division final in a season-best and NCAA regional qualifying time of 3:09.26. The women's 4x4 of freshman Alycia Williams (Palm Coast, FL/Flagler Palm Coast), sophomore Sheena Davidson (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech), junior Sheena Goss (Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek) and sophomore Tysha Colon (Washington, DC/HD Woodson) was fourth in their heat in 3:48.12 and did not advance to the finals.
The women's 4x800-meter relay won their heat in a season-best time of 8:59.00 and placed fifth overall, while their sprint medley relay of Morgan, Colon, Williams and Davidson finished 15th in 3:58.69. The men's sprint medley placed 10th in 3:24.70.
The George Mason men's and women's track & field teams return to action this weekend as hosts of the Patriot Open on Saturday, May 3, at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots will also host the first-ever NCAA East Regional Track & Field Championships at George Mason Stadium from Friday, May 30, through Saturday, May 31.
