FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason cross country team will play host to four visiting squads on Saturday morning as they are all set to compete in the 2013 Mason Invitational.
Norfolk State University, Richard Bland University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the University of the District of Columbia women will join George Mason at the Oatlands Plantation on Saturday. Racing starts at 10 a.m. with an 8k for the men, followed by a 6k for the women at 10:45 a.m. Live results will be posted online at http://www.scullionstiming.com/13mason.
Mason has competed in two races this season, most recently at the Panorama Farms Virginia Invitational in a preview of the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships course. The men's team finished 11th overall while the women placed 14th. The Patriots opened the season at the Spider Alumni Open where the men placed fourth and the women in fifth.
Senior John Holt was the top finisher for Mason in last week's event, completed the 8k in a time of 24:42.1 to finish 41st overall out of 102 runners. Junior Bethany Sachtleben finished first for the women in a 5k time of 17:48.4, the 27th fastest time out of 117 competitors.
The Competitors:
Norfolk State University: Has competed in two races this season. At the UMES Lid-Lifter Invitational the men's team took the team title, including the top-four individual places in the 5k event. The women's team opened the season with a second place finish. Both squads took first place at the UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational, where Damtew Adnew won the 8k race for the men and Faith Summey finished first in the women's 5k.
Richard Bland University: Had one male runner compete in the VSU Invite last weekend, where Ricardo Cabrera finished fourth place overall at the 8k event. The men's team also competed in the season-opening race at Virginia State University. The women's squad has competed in the same season-opening race along with a race at William & Mary.
UNCW: Saturday will be UNCW's fourth race of the season. The men's team has finished second of seven at the Towson Invitational (8k), third of three at the Seahawk Invitational (5k) and sixth out of sixth overall at the Covered Bridge Open (8k). The women's team has competed in the same events, finishing fifth (of nine), third (of three) and fifth (of six), respectively. All women's events have been a 5k.
UDC (Women): The Firebirds also competed in the Towson Invitational, finishing eighth overall at the event. Other races include the LIU Post Invitational where the women finished 10th out of 13, and at the UMES Lid Lifter, resulting in a fifth place team finish.
