TOWSON, Md. – Competing at their final Colonial Athletic Association track and field championships, the George Mason Patriots went out with a bang, collecting numerous event titles in addition to setting one meet record and one venue record.
Additionally, for his efforts David Verburg was named the men's track outstanding performer of the meet for the second-consecutive season.
On the women's side, Taylor Wheaton won the 400m hurdles in a time of 58.62, a meet record and PR. Cierra McGee had the other individual title as she crossed the finish line of the 400m dash in 53.40. McGee also joined with Aneesha Scott, Katea Jemmott and Shavon Briscoe in the 4x100m relay, taking the top spot in 46.13.
For the men, David Verburg made it a clean sweep of the 200m and 400m. In the 400m he finished nearly two seconds ahead of his closest competitor (45.37) for his fourth-consecutive CAA title in the event while setting a Unitas Stadium record. Anthony Williams claimed the top spot in the 110m hurdles (14.09, PR), and Gustavo Osorio finished best in the decathlon (6,303 pts.).
WOMEN
100m
Aneesha Scott led the Patriot women in the100m dash on Saturday, finishing third with a season-best time of 11.89. Katea Jemmott also competed, finishing fifth in 12.04.
200m
Another third-place finish for Aneesha Scott came in the 200m as she crossed the finish line in 24.13. Jasmine Robinson took sixth in the event with a PR of 24.73.
400m
Bringing home Mason's 13th women's CAA 400m title in program history, Cierra McGee won the event with a season-best time of 53.40. Daianna Barron finished right on her heels, taking second with a PR of 53.83.
1500m
Two Patriots finished with PR's in the women's 1500m final on Saturday. Victoria Samyn finished eighth in a time of 4:38.62, while Siobhan Klie placed 12th after crossing the finish line in 4:54.43.
3000m Steeplechase
The Patriots re-wrote the record books in the 3000m steeplechase on Saturday, as Jennifer Nakamura shattered her previous top mark by seven seconds, finishing fourth overall in 11:12.21. Katie Treichel placed ninth with a PR and third-best time in school history of 11:38.18, while Lauren Givens finished 14th with a PR and fourth-best time in school history of 11:45.02.
100m Hurdles
Shavon Briscoe made her way to the podium in the finals of the 100m hurdles, finishing second in the event in a time of 13.69. Jasmine Robinson ran a PR en route to a fifth-place finish with a time of 14.48.
400m Hurdles
Taylor Wheaton set the standard in the women's 400m hurdles, finishing almost two seconds ahead of teammate Shavon Briscoe and setting a CAA meet record and PR with a winning time of 58.62. It is the ninth CAA title in the event for Mason and first since Michelle Burgher won it in 1999.
4x100m Relay
The quartet of Aneesha Scott, Cierra McGee, Katea Jemmott and Shavon Briscoe brought home the gold, winning the 4x1 in a time of 46.13. It is the 14th CAA title in program history, and the first since 2010.
Shot Put
Competing in the shot put, Haley Hale tied her PR and finished in 10th place with a toss of 11.60m, recorded on her second attempt of the day.
Discus
Hurling the disc on Saturday, Michelle Wallerstedt led the Patriots with a fifth-place finish after a toss of 42.91m. Emily Muniz placed 17th with a throw of 29.92m.
Triple Jump
Katea Jemmott took part in the triple jump, finishing seventh with a leap of 11.20m, recorded on her third attempt of the day.
High Jump
There was close competition in the women's high jump, as the top five athletes all finished in a tie at 1.66m. In the mix was Mason's Dominique Graham who ended up finishing tied for second behind Towson's Evan Campbell after a jump-off.
MEN
100m
Topping his PR from Friday's prelims, DaQuan Smalls finished sixth in Saturday's finals with a time of 10.91.
200m
The 200m saw David Verburg and Adrian Vaughn sweep the top two spots on the day. Verburg won the event with a time of 20.69, a PR and the fourth-fastest time in Mason program history. The Patriots have won the event in each of the last five seasons, and have taken home nine conference titles overall in the men's 200m dash. Vaughn finished second with a season-best time of 20.94, DaQuan Smalls placed fourth with a PR of 21.73, and Angel Coburn finished sixth with a PR of 21.97.
400m
David Verburg made sure he left his mark in the CAA record books, as he took home his fourth-consecutive men's 400m title on Saturday. Finishing nearly two seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, Verburg won the event with a season-best time of 45.37.The time also broke a Unitas Stadium record that had stood since 1982 and was Mason's 10th CAA title in the event, including the fifth straight. Adrian Vaughn finished second behind Verburg with a season-best time of 47.23, and Angel Coburn placed fourth with a time of 48.72.
800m
In the 800m, Tyler Golden was the top Mason finisher after crossing the finish line in 1:52.82, good for second place. Cody Raphael also took to the track, placing eighth in a time of 1:59.90.
1500m
Mason took four of the top 10 spots in the 1500m, led by Parker Boudreau who made it to the podium with a time of 3:53.54, good for third place. Tyler Oliver followed in sixth place (3:57.37), Wil McReynolds in eighth (3:58.90) and Jason Hartman in ninth with a PR (3:59.79). Ryan McGreal also competed in the event, finishing 14th in 4:16.43.
110m Hurdles
Taking home a title for the Patriots, Anthony Williams won the 110m hurdles with a PR of 14.09, the ninth-best time in program history. It is the 13th CAA event title in Mason program history, and first since 2011 (LaVell Handy). Teddy Murphy placed sixth, running a PR of 14.93.
Discus
Competing in the discus, Kirk Nguyen finished seventh overall with a toss of 41.05m, recorded on his second toss of the day.
Triple Jump
Both Mason competitors in the men's triple jump placed, led by a season-best leap of 14.25m from Michael Lawton. Justin Little finished seventh with a PR of 13.41m.
High Jump
Also competing in the high jump on Saturday, Justin Little tied his PR in the event, finishing sixth with a jump of 1.84m.
Decathlon
Winning his second-consecutive CAA decathlon title, Gustavo Osorio won the event with a season-best total of 6,303 points. Osorio wrapped up the event winning the 1500m (4:31.00), and finishing second in the discus (31.55m), third in both the pole vault (4.25m) and 110m hurdles (16.70), and fifth in the javelin (39.05m).
Kenzell Crawford took the third spot in the decathlon, totaling a season-best 5,541 points. Crawford won the 110m hurdles (16.01), and finished third in the javelin (43.05m), fourth in both the pole vault (3.95m) and 1500m (5:19.09) and fifth in the discus (25.15m).
