Jan. 31, 2008

NEW YORK - The George Mason men's 4x800-meter relay team has been selected among an elite group of college relay teams to run at the 101st Millrose Games, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN2 from 7-8 p.m., with the men's college 4x800-meter relay race slated for 7:45 p.m.

The event will feature seven of the NCAA's top 4x800-meter relay teams. The Patriots will face Arkansas, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Villanova. Sophomore Michael Pachella, sophomore Sam Horn, freshman Erin McWhorter and sophomore Matt Bailey will run in the race. Mason's top time in the event this season was 7:51.71 at last weekend's Patriot Games.

"We're happy to be invited to compete at the Millrose Games," said men's track and field Head Coach Andrew Gerard. "It is a great opportunity for these young athletes to compete on a national stage at one of the most prestigious track and field meets during the indoor season."

The 101st Millrose Games begin at 5:40 p.m. with the women's one-mile walk and the meet wraps up at 10:20 p.m. with the Wanamaker Mile. The meet is the oldest invitational indoor track and field meet in America. In its first 100 years, the Millrose Games hosted some of the greatest track and field athletes of all-time - among them Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Bob Seagren, Wyomia Tyus, Miruts Yifter, Sergey Bubka, Mary Decker Slaney, Valery Brumel, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Said Auoita, Carl Lewis, Tirunesh Dibaba and Yelena Isinbayeva.