Nov. 6, 2008

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason Director of Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track and Field Andrew Gerard announced today the hiring of Sita Waru-Ewell as an Associate Head Coach for the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams. Waru-Ewell, who has spent the past seven years at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, will join the George Mason staff on Dec. 1, one week after the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

"We're really excited to have Sita join our staff for the upcoming indoor and outdoor track and field seasons," Gerard said. "We were very impressed when she came in for her interview. She is very organized, has a great demeanor with student-athletes and has recruited successfully. She helped put Lamar on the map as far as a middle distance and distance program, both on the men's and the women's side. She fills a nice niche on our staff and I think she's going to be a great leader for our program."

Waru-Ewell will be primarily responsible for coaching the cross country, middle distance and distance runners at George Mason, three areas her teams at Lamar excelled in. Under Waru-Ewell's direction, the Lamar men's cross country team has collected three straight Southland Conference championships, most recently winning the 2008 crown in record-setting fashion on Monday, Nov. 3. The women's team also won three straight conference titles from 2004-06. Between cross county and track, Waru-Ewell has coached 27 individual conference champions, 67 all-conference performers, eight national qualifiers and two All-Americans.

A 2002 graduate of McNeese State, Waru ran collegiately for the Cowgirls, earning 17 individual titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, and was a seven-time SLC athlete of the year. She also represented New Zealand in the 2000 World Cross Country Meet in Villamoura, Portugal. She graduated from McNeese State in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance.