March 7, 2010
IC4A Championships Complete Results|ECAC Championships Complete Results
BOSTON - George Mason's men's track and field team finished in second place at the IC4A Championships, while the women's team placed third at the ECAC Championships. Both championship meets wrapped up on Sunday afternoon in Boston, Mass.
The men's team recorded a total of 65 team points to finish as the runners-up to the University at Albany. The Great Danes finished the meet with 68.5 points to edge the Patriots for their second straight team title. The women's team wrapped up the ECAC Championships with 45 team points to finish behind the University of Connecticut (84.5) and Seton Hall University (65).
Junior Kevin Wilson won the 500-meter dash title at the IC4A Championships with a personal-best time of 1:02.17 in the finals of the race. Teammate George Empty also competed in the event, finishing eighth with a time of 1:09.34.
In addition to Wilson's individual title, the Patriots also took first place in the 4x400-meter relay race. The team of Wilson, Nick Vaughn, David Verburg and Ja-Vell Bullard set a new facility record at the BU Track and Field Pavilion on their way to an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:07.43. The previous facility record of 3:07.64 was set by Seton Hall at the 2003 IC4A Championships.
In the 55-meter dash, sophomore Rachaunn Ruffin advanced to the finals, where he finished in fourth place with a time of 6.37 seconds. Ruffin clocked in at 6.46 seconds in the preliminary heats to advance to the semifinals, where he crossed the finish line in 6.43 seconds to earn one of nine spots in the finals. Ruffin also advanced to the finals of the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.47 seconds in the preliminary heats.
Vaughn and freshman Travaughn Baker-Johnson also reached the finals of the 200-meter dash. Vaughn finished as the runner-up in the event with a personal-best time of 21.24 seconds. Baker-Johnson finished 10th with a time of 22.15 seconds.
In the 400-meter dash, Verburg advanced to the finals with a time of 47.44 seconds in the preliminary heats. Verburg finished sixth in the finals with a time of 47.40 seconds.
Both Robert Reynolds and Chris Carrington made the finals of the 1000-meter run. Reynolds finished third with a time of 2:29.23, while Carrington finished fifth with a time of 2:29.43.
Senior Anthony LaMastro ran a time of 4:11.15 to finish seventh in the mile run. LaMastro finished 10th in the preliminary rounds with a time of 4:06.96 to nab the final qualifying spot.
In the 3000-meter run, sophomore Everett Hackett took seventh place with a time of 8:16.33. Senior Scott Tekesky took 15th place in the 5000-meter run with a time of 14:38.18. In the 800-meter run, sophomore Tyler Golden finished eighth with a time of 1:55.48.
Sophomore LaVell Handy finished sixth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.63 seconds. Handy reached the finals with a time of 7.52 seconds in the preliminary heats and a time of 7.56 seconds in the semifinals. Handy also competed in both the long jump and the triple jump at the meet. Handy finished fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.74 meters (48 ft. 4.5 in.) and ninth in the long jump with a leap of 6.84 meters (22 ft. 5.25 in.)
The men's distance medley relay team finished in the top three in the event. The Patriots' team of Sam Horn, Marcus Wyche, Cody Raphael and Parker Boudreau finished the race in 9:46.57 for a third-place finish. Mason trailed Harvard and William and Mary in the event.
At the ECAC Championships, freshman Rochelle Sceats finished in third place with a time of 16:34.40 in the 5000-meter run. The time topped the NCAA provisional qualifying standard in the event and bested Sceats' previous personal best of 16:37.66. Teammate Sandy Castro also ran in the race, crossing the finish line in 16:58.16.
In the triple jump, sophomore Grace Mavugara recorded a mark of 12.44 meters (40 ft. 9.75 in.) on her first jump to finish as the runner-up in the event. Mavugara finished second to Long Island sophomore Jessie Gaines, who recorded a leap of 12.53 meters (41 ft. 1.5 in.).
Senior Tiara Swindell finished fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.06 seconds. Swindell advanced to the finals after crossing the finish line in 55.65 seconds in the preliminary heats.
Swindell also competed in the 200-meter dash, along with teammates Cierra McGee and Marie Fields. McGee was the lone Patriot to advance to the finals of the event, clocking in at a personal-best time of 24.19 seconds to finish in fourth place. McGee ran a time of 24.42 seconds in the preliminary heats to advance to the finals.
Freshman Mandissa Marshall finished fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.80 meters (12 ft. 5.5 in.). In the long jump, junior Chia Hudson recorded a jump of 5.79 meters (19 ft.) to finish sixth in the event.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Latasha Rivers, Swindell, Fields and McGee advanced to the finals of the event after topping the field during the preliminary heats with a time of 3:44.02. In the finals, the Patriots finished as the runners-up to Seton Hall's team after crossing the finish line in 3:41.09. George Mason's 4x800-meter relay team of Laura Sinclair, Kimmy Moss, Monique McKenzie and Samantha Fickel finished in eighth place with a time of 9:17.37. The distance medley relay team of Sinclair, Shantel Miles, McKenzie and Sceats finished the race in 11:44.97 to take fourth place.
The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships are scheduled for March 12-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The final list of meet participants will be released on Monday at 7 p.m. at NCAA.com. Sceats (5000) and Mavugara (triple jump) have both provisionally qualified for the women's team. Horn (mile) is the lone individual to provisionally qualify for the men's team. The men's 4x400-meter relay team also reached the provisional qualifying standard with today's performance.
