FAIRFAX, Va. – For the second consecutive season the George Mason men's and women's cross country team kicked off their racing schedule at the Spider Alumni Open, hosted by the University of Richmond in Richmond, Va. on Friday.
The men's event consisted of a 5k while the women competed in a two mile race. Competing teams included Duquesne, Richmond, William and Mary, VCU and Hampton in addition to George Mason. The Patriot men finished in fifth place as a team with a total of 108 points while the women's team placed fourth with 122 points. The course at Pole Green Park will also serve as the host of the Atlantic 10 Championship in November.
Senior Sean Nestor was the first of the men to finish for Mason, completing the course in 15:43.9 for 20th place overall. Not far behind was sophomore Steven Flynn who finished in a time of 15:54.1 while finishing 27th overall out of the field of 63 men.
Just one second later freshman James Poyer crossed the line in a time of 15:55.3 followed by Tyler Oliver (15:58) and James Luehrs (15:58.4). Josh Schlickenmeyer (16:00.3), Wil McReynolds (16:06.4), Taylor Torino (16:08.8), David Hollinger (16:39.4) and Colin Winchester (16:41.8) also ran for Mason.
In the women's race Jennifer Nakamura was the first to finish for Mason, running the two miles in 11:23.1 which was good for 27th place out of 80 competitors. Sophomore Katie Treichel would complete the course just twenty seconds later in a time of 11:43.9 to be the second Patriot to cross the line. Mason had ten other women running the course, including sophomore Heather Selheimer (11:48) and juniors Peyton Lowe (11:52) and Lauren Givens (11:55.3). Head coach Sita Waru-Ewell was pleased with the first results of the season.
“We had a solid start to the season," stated Ewell. "There were a couple of good individual performances with Jenn being our top performer and Lauren Givens having a solid day for the team. We still have a few things we need to work on before our next competition.”
The Mason men and women will next compete at the Virginia Invitational on September 28th at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. This event will preview the course slated for NCAA Southeast Regional Championships later in the season.
