Aug. 18, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. - A total of four Patriots were honored on Tuesday when the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) announced its prestigious 25th Anniversary Team for men's cross country. Six conference championships were won by the four members announced to the team from George Mason.

The members of the team from George Mason include Julius Achon (1996-98), Ibrahim Aden (1994-96), Abdi Bile (1983-87) and Kevin Black (1984-88). The team was selected by a panel of current and former head coaches in the conference.

Achon, a Kampala, Uganda native, won back-to-back individual titles at the CAA Men's Cross Country Championships in 1996-97. In 1996, he was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the meet after blowing away the field with a time of 24:10 and winning the title by 27 seconds over the runner-up, Ryan Foster of James Madison. Achon improved his time at the 1997 CAA Championship meet, edging William and Mary's Matt Lane by a second to take the title in 23:57. Achon competed for Uganda in the 1500-meter run at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

After transferring to George Mason for his final two seasons of eligibility, Borau, Somalia native Ibrahim Aden did not disappoint on the cross country course. Aden earned All-CAA honors during his junior season with a seventh-place finish (25:04) at the championship meet. He captured the CAA title his senior season after crossing the finish line in 24:39. Aden was selected the CAA Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year for his performance during his senior season. Aden represented Somalia in the 800-meter run at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. and the 1500-meter run at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Bile, a native of Las Anod, Somalia, made an immediate impact on the cross country course as a freshman, winning the ECAC South Cross Country Championship in 1983 with a time of 24:06 to help lead Mason to a second-place finish behind Navy in the team scoring. During his senior season of 1986, Bile again captured the individual title, winning the CAA Championship with a time of 23:58 to lead the Patriots to a second-place finish behind Navy. He was named the CAA Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year for his performance during his senior season.

Competing for his native country of Somalia, Bile captured the gold medal in the 1500-meter run at the 1987 World Championship meet in Rome, Italy to become the first World Champion in the history of Somalia. He also finished in third place in the same event at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Bile competed in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif. and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. At the 1996 Olympic Games, he finished in sixth place in the final of the 1500-meter run.

Black, a local product from Fairfax, Va., took home ECAC South hardware as a freshman in 1984 after topping the field with a time of 24:20. He followed up his first-place performance with top-10 finishes at the 1985 and 1986 CAA Championship meets. In 1985, he finished sixth (31:16) and in 1986, he finished in seventh place (24:47). In each of those seasons, Mason finished as the runner-up in the team scoring to Navy.

The CAA is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the conference in 2009 by selecting a Silver Anniversary Team in each of the sports it sponsors. In addition to men's cross country, the CAA has already announced its 25th Anniversary Teams in men's soccer, women's soccer and women's volleyball. The women's cross country team will be released on Thursday.

Men's Cross Country 25th Anniversary Team
Julius Achon, George Mason
Ibrahim Aden, George Mason
Abdi Bile, George Mason
Kevin Black, George Mason
Mike Brown, W&M
Russ Coleman, JMU
Ben Cooke, JMU
Mike Fox, JMU
Jacob Frey, W&M
Sean Graham, W&M
Ken Halla, W&M
Jeff Hedley, W&M
Charlie Hurt, W&M
Bryan Hyde, W&M
Matt Keally, W&M
Kevin Krause, W&M
Christo Landry, W&M
Matt Lane, W&M
C.W. Moran, JMU
Ed Moran, W&M
Mark Steeds, Georgia State
Steve Swift, W&M
Howard Townsend, W&M
Paul Vandegrift, W&M
Pete Weilenmann, JMU