Feb. 16, 2007

Complete Results

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Junior Brian Hay grabbed the headlines for the George Mason men's track and field team on the first day of the Virginia Tech Challege at Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va., qualifying for the IC4A Championships in the 55-meter hurdles.

Hay finished sixth in the finals of the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.94 seconds. His IC4A-qualifying mark came earlier in the evening, when he ran his best time of the season in the semifinals of the event, finishing the race in 7.60 seconds to qualify for the finals.

In addition to Hay, a pair of Mason freshman performed well on the first day of the meet. In the 300-meter dash, Marcus Wyche finished fifth with a time of 35.09 seconds, while Ben Rodman finished eighth in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:07.67.

Nearly a month after tying a 25-year old school record in the 55-meter dash at the same facility, sophomore Murielle Ahoure returned and set another school mark, this time in the 300-meter dash, on Friday.

Ahoure finished first in the 300-meter dash field, running a blazing-fast time of 38.09 seconds, breaking the previous George Mason record of 38.77 seconds set in 1984 by Terri Dendy. Her time blew away the field, as she finished the race more than two seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Wake Forest's Michelle Duffey, who finished in 40.30 seconds.

Along with another record-setting performance by Ahoure, two members of the women's team earned top-10 finishes on Friday - sophomore Ryann Hendricks placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 5.77 meters (18 ft. 11.25 in.), while junior Melissa Ferry finished eighth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:04.44.

The Virginia Tech Challenge continues tomorrow with the women's weight throw, women's high jump and the men's triple jump all beginning at noon. The running events start at 12:15 p.m. with section three of the men's 3000-meter run. The final event, the men's 4x400-meter relay, is slated for 4:55 p.m.