Oct. 31, 2009

Men's Results | Women's Results

NEW MARKET, Va. - George Mason's men's and women's cross country teams both finished in the top-three in the team scoring at the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Championships, held on Saturday morning at New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in New Market, Va. The men's team finished in second place, while the women's team finished third at the meet.

The men's team earned its fifth consecutive top-three finish at the championships by way of three All-CAA performances at the meet. Everett Hackett continued his strong sophomore season with a runner-up finish, clocking in at 25:13.52 to finish 6.68 seconds behind individual champion Brian Sklodowski of William and Mary, who crossed the finish line in 25:06.84 on his way to winning the Most Outstanding Runner of the Meet Award. Also earning All-CAA honors for the Patriots by finishing in the top-12 were senior Sam Horn, who finished 10th with a time of 25:39.04, and junior Scott Tekesky, who finished 12th with a time of 25:41.61.

George Mason totaled 57 team points on its way to a second-place finish in the 8k race. William and Mary won its 10th consecutive conference championship with a total of 21 points. The University of Delaware rounded out the top-three teams with 81 points.

"The men did an excellent job today," said George Mason Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Andrew Gerard. "Moving back up to second as a team, almost cutting our score from last year in half, and having three guys earn All-CAA are the obvious positives, but more importantly, we just raced and competed very well. And we've still got more to give - we will be better still at Regionals in two weeks!"

In the women's 6k race, the Patriots broke a streak of four consecutive 10th-place finishes by taking third place at the meet with 126 points, edging Delaware by a point for third place. William and Mary took the team title with 33 points, with James Madison second with 40 points.

Freshman Rochelle Sceats earned All-CAA honors with a fifth-place finish, clocking in at 21:01.32. Sceats was joined on the All-CAA team by freshman Laura Sinclair, who finished the race in 21:39.94. Senior Emily Anderson of William and Mary took home Most Outstanding Runner of the Meet hardware with a first-place finish and time of 20:35.68.

"I'm really proud of the girls. They really stepped it up and performed exceptionally today," said George Mason Associate Head Coach of Track and Field/Cross Country Sita Waru-Ewell. "At the start of the season our goal was to be in the top-five at the conference meet and we certainly met that goal today. Rochelle and Laura had an exceptional day today by placing in the top-10 and being named All-Conference. That's a huge accomplishment for a pair of freshmen."

George Mason will compete again on Friday, Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. at the Cavalier Invitational at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. The NCAA Southeast Regional Championships will be held the following Saturday, Nov. 14, in Louisville, Ky.

Men's Final Results
1.       William and Mary - 21
2.       George Mason - 57
3.       Delaware - 81
4.       Northeastern -129
5.       VCU - 130
6.       Georgia State - 173
7.       UNC Wilmington - 176
8.       Hofstra - 225
Women's Final Results
1.       William and Mary - 33
2.       James Madison -  40
3.       George Mason - 126
4.       Delaware - 127
5.       Towson - 139
6.       UNC Wilmington - 147
7.       Northeastern - 154
8.       Georgia State - 188
9.       VCU - 265
10.   	 Hofstra - 295