May 11, 2006

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason's men's and women's track and field teams will begin championship competition this weekend when they travel to Princeton, N.J., with the men competing in the IC4A Championships and the women taking part in the ECAC Championships. Both meets will be held at Princeton University's William Weaver Track and Field Stadium on May 12-14.

On the men's side, a trio of Patriots will compete in the 110-meter hurdles. Leading the way is senior Richard Phillips, a former Olympian who will also compete in the 200-meter dash at the championships. He has run the fastest time in the 110-meter hurdles for Mason so far this season with a time of 13.71 seconds at the Texas Relays on April 8. Phillips' time ranks as the eighth-fastest in the nation this season, and the third-best time in the East Region.

"Richard is a tremendously experienced, great competitor," said head coach Andrew Gerard. "We hope for him to contend for the win; our expectation is for him to be out in front."

Sophomore Brian Hay and freshman Steven Knight will also compete in the event. Hay's goal is to make the finals, while Knight will try to improve upon the times he's ran so far this season, Gerard said. Hay ran his fastest time of the season on April 7 at the Texas Relays, finishing the race in 14.38 seconds, while Knight's fastest time this year is 14.82 seconds.

The men are also well-represented in the jumping events with senior Quentin Matthews competing in the high jump, senior Marc Kellman competing in the long jump and both Kellman and junior Ryan McCoy competing in the triple jump.

Kellman and McCoy are both top seeds at the meet in the triple jump. Kellman's best jump, 16.05 meters, at the Texas Relays on April 8 ranks fifth nationally and third in the East Region, while McCoy's top mark of 15.81 meters ranks 11th nationally and sixth in the East Region. While both hope to come away with the IC4A Championship, the meet will also be a prime opportunity for them to prepare for the NCAA East Regional Championships, as they will be competing against a number of opponents that will also be at the regional meet, Gerard said.

In the high jump, Matthews is tied for the 13th-best mark in the nation and tied for the second-best mark in the East Region. With many of the top high jumpers in the region competing at the meet, Matthews will attempt to place as high as he can in a good field, Gerard said. Senior Sammy Sesay will run in the 100-meter dash with hopes of getting a regional qualifying time that has eluded him thus far. He ran his two fastest times of the season in the event at last weekend's Patriot Open Invitational at George Mason Stadium.

"His time jumped last weekend," Gerard said. "We would love for him to run fast enough to qualify for the regionals this weekend."

The men will also run in the 4x100-meter relay. Phillips, Sesay, Kellman and Hay will run in the event, though not necessarily in that order.

The women's team has qualified five athletes in eight events for the ECAC Championships. Freshman Murielle Ahoure will run in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. She is ranked eighth in the East Region in the 100-meter dash and 13th in the region in the 200-meter dash. Her top marks both came at last weekend's Patriot Open Invitational, where she ran 11.52 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 23.57 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

Taylor said she hopes for Ahoure to win the 100-meter dash, but expects the 200-meter dash to present a tougher challenge with two twins from Pittsburgh, Shantea and Shanea Calhoun who are both ranked higher than Ahoure in the event, scheduled to compete.

A pair of freshman, Ryann Hendricks and Brittanie Williams, will compete in the triple jump. The field will be challenging with both Brittany Grovey of Brown and Tahari James of Boston University among the competitors. Grovey and James both rank in the top 25 in the nation in the event. Despite the level of competition, Taylor thinks both Hendricks and Williams have the potential to make the finals and place in the top five in the event. In addition to the triple jump, Williams will also compete in the 100-meter hurdles.

Senior Ashley Ackerley will compete in the discus throw with hopes of improving her distance enough to qualify for the regional championships. Her longest toss this season was 43.50 meters at the Patriot Open Invitational last weekend.

"This is a great accomplishment for Ashley," Taylor said. "Getting to the ECACs was a goal of hers. Now we hope she can improve upon her mark in hopes of getting to the regionals."

Another senior, Sheena Davidson, will compete in the 400-meter dash. Like Ackerley, her goal will be to improve upon her time to get her into the East Regional Championships. Her top time this season was 55.90 seconds at the Spring Open Invitational on April 1.

The women will also run in the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays this weekend. Hendricks, sophomore Misti Turner, Davidson and Ahoure will run the 4x100-meter relay, while Davidson, Turner, Hendricks and freshman Jonecia Gates will run the 4x400-meter relay. The 4x100-meter relay has qualified for the regional championships by virtue of claiming the conference title at the CAA Championships on April 22.