Jan. 6, 2006

Fairfax, Va. (January 6, 2006) - The 2006 men's and women's indoor track and field season begins on Saturday for Mason as the Patriots host the Father Diamond Invitational at the Recreation Sports Complex in Fairfax, Va.

The Father Diamond will be the first opportunity for a number of Patriots with big aspirations for 2006 to compete against other teams. The teams competing include Georgetown, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State, William and Mary, Mary Washington and West Virginia State (men's only). Unattached athletes ranked in the top 50 in the world will also be allowed to compete at the meet. These athletes include Dudley Dorival, Ricardo Melbourne and Maurice Wignall (60-meter hurdles); Nadine Faustin-Parker (60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles); and Allen Simms (long jump).

For the women's team, senior Ashley Ackerley (Burke, Va.) will try to improve upon last year's seventh place finish and 11.04m toss in the shot put at the Father Diamond Invitational. On the men's side, the 60-meter hurdles will feature a couple of top post-collegians and two of Mason's most successful athletes, Ricardo Melbourne and Maurice Wignall. Wignall competed for Jamaica in the 2004 Olympics and placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles.

The Father Diamond Invitational begins at 10 a.m. with the women's long jump. The women's weight throw and women's pole vault continues at 11 a.m. Field events will continue throughout the day with the men's triple jump the final field event of the meet beginning at 3 p.m. Track events begin at noon with the 4x800-meter relays. The final track events, the 4x400-meter relays, are slated to finish at 5:15 p.m. The complete event schedule can be found on GoMason.com, the official web site of George Mason Athletics.