Sept. 12, 2009

Men's Results | Women's Results

NEW MARKET, Va. - George Mason's men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2009 fall schedule with a pair of sixth-place finishes in their respective races at the James Madison Invitational on Saturday morning. The men's team ran an 8000-meter race, while the women's team ran a 5,000-meter race at the New Market Battlefield in New Market, Va.

The men's team finished in sixth place behind a pair of top-20 individual finishes. Senior James Burns was the Patriots top finisher, wrapping up the race in 25:44.90 to earn 17th place. Freshman John Holt finished two spots behind Burns in 19th place with a time of 25:49.70.

In the women's race, junior Samantha Fickel was the top finisher for the Patriots, crossing the finish line 31st with a time of 20:42.30. Sandy Castro was the next Patriot to finish the race, clocking in at 21:10.40 to take 43rd place.

Duke University won both the men's and women's races. The Blue Devils had eight of the top 10 finishers in the women's race and seven of the top 10 in the men's race.

George Mason's next race will take place next weekend at the Lou Onesty Invitational in Earlysville, Va. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.