Oct. 26, 2007
Complete Results
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -
The George Mason men's cross country team achieved their best finish at the CAA Championships since the 1986 season, finishing in second place at this year's meet, held at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. Sophomore Robert Krause, the team's top runner entering the meet, again paced the Patriots with a time of 24:49.40, earning All-CAA honors with a fifth-place finish.
Mason, who entered the meet ranked 14th in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Poll, has steadily improved at the championships the past three seasons. After finishing ninth at the 2005 CAA Championships, the men's team finished third behind William and Mary and James Madison at last year's meet with 98 points. The Patriots went one step further this season with their second-place finish, shaving their team score by 41 points to a total of 57 at this year's meet. Mason finished second from 1983-86 but that marked the last time the Patriots placed in the top-two at the meet before this season.
Seven Patriots' placed in the top-25 in the 8k race. After Krause, senior Kris Cruz was the next Mason athlete to cross the finish line, finishing 14th with a time of 25:21.40. Following Cruz, senior John Crain was 18th (25:32.20), sophomore Andrew Holloway was 19th (25:35.20), junior Ryan Murphy was 20th (25:36.20), sophomore James Snyder was 24th (25:51.70) and senior Ryan Davis was 25th (25:51.70).
The 28th team in the nation in the most recent USTFCCCA poll, the William and Mary Tribe, earned its eighth consecutive CAA title, finishing first with a total of 16 points. Of the top-13 runners, 11 of those were from William and Mary. Senior Christo Landry took the individual title with a time of 23:58.90.
In the women's 6k run, William and Mary made it a clean sweep of the team titles, earning its fifth straight CAA Championship by scoring 40 points as a unit. Four Tribe runners placed in the top-10 with the team's top finisher, senior Erin Prillaman, earning runner-up honors with a time of 21:56.10.
James Madison and Georgia State rounded out the top-three for the women, earning 50 and 81 points, respectively. Rachel Hannah, a senior from Georgia State, won the race with a time of 21:28.40. George Mason finished in 10th place at the meet with 287 team points. The first Patriot runner to cross the finish line was freshman Samantha Fickel, who finished 47th with a time of 23:43.70.
Both the men's and women's cross country teams return to action on Saturday, Nov. 3 when they race at the Cavalier Open at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.
