Jan. 4, 2008

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's track and field team has a large and talented roster, but also a very young one, with 32 of its 47 athletes being freshmen or sophomores. While the team may be young, it has a wealth of potential, which has shown up nicely during its offseason training program, with each member of the team pushing their teammates to achieve their peak performance levels, something that Head Coach Andrew Gerard hopes will translate into impressive results once the 2008 track and field season gets underway.

"With all the groups now, we've got a very good training situation," Gerard said. "The elite guys are able to be pushed by the next level of guys. The next level of guys have stepped up and have developed good training habits. Hopefully those pay off in terms of racing and competitive results. It's really a good productive situation."

A senior that should have no problem producing impressive results once the season begins is Ryan McCoy, who enters his final season at George Mason ranking fifth all-time in the school record books in the triple jump. The two-time All-American will look to close out his career with an impressive performance on the national stage during both the indoor and outdoor seasons in his prime event, the triple jump.

"He's made some nice improvements in strength this fall," Gerard said. "We're seeing much better results out of him in terms of strength and speed, and all the testing has shown he's made some nice jumps. If he stays healthy, then the sky's the limit, I think he'll have a big year."

Another high-level performer returning for his final season at Mason is Brian Hay, the team's top performer in the short hurdles last season and an NCAA East Regional Championships qualifier. Hay has dedicated himself to training in preparation for closing out his George Mason career with a big senior season and qualifying for the national championship meet.

"He's been to regionals a couple of times. Our hope is that he's going to make that breakthrough and get beyond the regional level this year," Gerard said. "He's starting off at a much better point coming into this season than he has been the past couple of years because of his renewed dedication to training. His weight is down, his strength is up and his speed is up. His attention to a lot of the little stuff is way up and those will all pay significant dividends when the season rolls around. He has more focus this year."

While Hay and McCoy headline the returning upperclassmen for the Patriots, Mason has a number of others that will provide quality results and depth to the team throughout the upcoming season. A trio of seniors, John Crain, Kris Cruz and Ryan Davis, will lead the team in the distance events. Ryan Miller also returns for his senior year and will provide depth in the distance races. MacGregor Lennarz and Andrew Wright-Hall will bolster the team in the sprints. Michael Wade is a very versatile senior that will team with McCoy to comprise a formidable tandem in the jumps. Wade, an All-CAA performer in the high jump, nearly qualified for the IC4A Championships in the high jump, long jump and triple jump last season, and will aim to reach those marks this season.

In addition to its strong senior class, the Patriots also return an excellent group of juniors, highlighted by Mutsa Nyakabau, who was the team's top performer in the 200- and 400-meter dash last season. Nyakabau qualified for the IC4A Championships during the outdoor season last year and will attempt to go even further this year. In addition to Nyakabau, Javan Corniffe, Todd McDaniel and Jonathan Nad all return. Corniffe will run the middle distance events, along with McDaniel, while Nad will compete in the sprints after setting personal bests at last year's CAA Championships in both the 200- and the 400-meter dash.

The bulk of this year's team is comprised of underclassmen, and the team returns 13 sophomores who are primed to excel in their second season with the Patriots after earning valuable experience during their freshman season. The top returning sophomore is Michael Pachella, who won last year's CAA Rookie of the Year award with a phenomenal season in which he finished second at the CAA Championships in the 800-meter run and was a key performer on the Patriots' highly successful 4x800-meter relay team.

"We just want him to continue making the progress he's made," Gerard said. "I know that sounds vague, but last year as great a season as he had from his racing results, we still felt like there was a lot more he could accomplish in training. He had a lot of ups and downs in training just because of his relative inexperience. This year through the fall he's done a great job of training. He's missed very little and he's really shown nice progress."

Also returning as a sophomore is Robert Krause, the team's top runner during the cross country season, who finished fifth at the CAA Championships in cross country to earn All-CAA honors. His performance helped Mason achieve its best finish at the CAA Cross Country Championships since the 1986 season, finishing in second place at this year's meet. Gerard hopes Krause will translate his success on the cross country course into the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons in the distance events.

A number of other sophomores will also bolster a very talented and deep distance corps, including Travis Boccher, Andrew Holloway, Thomas Mason, Nicholas Montagna, Chris Palmer and James Phillips. In addition to its strength in the distance events, the sophomore class also has a great group of middle distance performers. In addition to Pachella, this group is comprised of Ryan Gaul, Anthony LaMastro and Chris Rice. Gerard thought Gaul was the top middle distance runner in the state of Virginia coming out of Lafayette High School two years ago and expects him to fulfill that potential this season.

The remaining three returning sophomores are Alexander Clayton, Justin Nelson and Marcus Wyche, who will all run the sprints for Mason. Clayton ran his top times of the season in the 200- and 400-meter dash at the CAA Championships, while Wyche put together an impressive freshman campaign for the Patriots, qualifying for the IC4A Championships in the 400-meter dash during the indoor season and earning All-CAA honors as part of Mason's 4x400-meter relay team during the outdoor campaign.

The large and talented group of newcomers to the team includes 13 freshman, six sophomores and two juniors. Gerard is excited about the potential that the group brings to the program.

"With everybody on the roster this year, there's a spark, there's the opportunity there, there's some upside," Gerard said. "Maybe it will show up this year, maybe it won't with some of the younger guys for a year or two."

Five sophomores joined the team after spending a season at James Madison University, which will field only a women's track and field program beginning this season. These transfers will all be standout performers for the Patriots in the middle distance and distance events during the track and field season after performing well on the cross country course during the fall. Included among this group are Matt Bailey, James Burns, Sam Horn, James Snyder and Scott Tekesky.

The team also added two more transfers in Nate Harris and Ryan Murphy to the team. Harris comes to the team with impressive credentials in the 400-meter hurdles after finishing in second place in the event at last year's Junior College Nationals. Murphy comes to Mason from the University of Virginia and will be a major contributor in the middle distance events after a strong showing during the cross country season.

The freshman class includes Tim Bech, from Neshaminy High School in Feasterville, Pa.; Daniel Callan, from Clarke County High School in Berryville, Va.; Charles Celesia, from Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Va.; Michael Duncanson, from Pine Bush High School in Bullville, N.Y.; Mark Harris, from Eastmoor Academy in Westerville, Ohio; Jamel Lavine, from Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Va.; Erin McWhorter, from John Handley High School in Winchester, Va.; Jonathan Mellis, from Midlothian High School in Midlothian, Va.; Phillip Mlinarcik, from Hayfield Secondary in Alexandria, Va.; William Phillips, from Monroe Township High School in Monroe Township, N.J.; Andrew Salwen, from Hightstown High School in Cranbury, N.J.; Dwight Webley, from Kingston College High School in Kingston, Jamaica; Jason Wellington, from Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, Va.; and Kevin Wilson, from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Va.

Mark Harris, Lavine, William Phillips and Wilson will run the sprints. McWhorter will run the middle distance events and cross country. Joining McWhorter on the cross country team will be Callan, Celesia, Duncanson and Mellis, who will compete in the distance events once the track and field season begins. Webley will compete in the jumps, while Bech will be a hurdler in his first season at Mason. Salwen and Wellington will focus on the throwing events, along with another newcomer, sophomore Devraj Dasgupta, who is working on throwing the javelin for the Patriots.

The indoor track and field season begins on Jan. 5, 2008 when the Patriots host the Father Diamond Invitational at the Fieldhouse. The IC4A Indoor Championships will be held on March 8-9 in Boston, Mass. and the NCAA Indoor Championships will be held on March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark. In addition to the Father Diamond Invitational, Mason will host two more meets during the indoor track and field season - the Patriot Games on Jan. 26 and the Mason Last Chance on March 2. The Patriots will host only one meet during the outdoor season, the Mason Outdoor Invitational on May 3.

Mason will begin its outdoor track and field season on March 21-22 at the Shamrock Invitational in Conway, S.C. The CAA Championships will be held on April 18-19 at William and Mary. The ECAC Outdoor Championships are slated for May 16-18 in Princeton, N.J., with the NCAA East Regional Championships scheduled for May 30-31 in Tallahassee, Fla. and the NCAA Outdoor Championships set for June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa. Since this is an Olympic year, the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials are scheduled for June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Ore. for the right to compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.