It was a record day for George Mason Track and Field as both the men's and women's team finished fourth overall in the Great Dane Classic held at the University of Albany Friday.
Seniors Daianna Barron, Mandissa Marshall and junior Bethany Sachtleben led the women's team on the track with top finishes on the day. Sachtelben, who brought home Mason's first Atlantic 10 title in the fall while competing with cross country, dominated in the women's 3000m with a time of 9:42.17, nearly nine seconds faster than second place.
Barron cracked the nation's current top five in the 400m dash with a first place finish on Friday with a time of 54.65. Barron, accompanied by Kiya Day, Caela Williams and Dominique Graham also nailed down the top spot in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:44.17 setting a new meet record.
Marshall, the reigning Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week, finished atop the pole vaulting standings for the second time in as many meets with a new, season-best and meet-record height of 4.15m. Mandissa's performance earned her the meet's Field MVP.
The upper classmen didn't get all the glory at Friday's meet. Freshman Nhautrey Brown finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 12.34m, setting a new personal record and putting her at eighth All-Time at Mason. Brown is currently 17th nationally in the event.
Freshman Chantel Richardson made her first meet with the Patriots a memorable one, popping out to a fourth place finish in the long jump with a distance of 5.83m.
The men's team also had a strong showing, highlighted by junior Anthony Williams and senior Adrian Vaughn who competed in three events for Mason.
Vaughn took second place amongst D-I competitors in the 200m dash with a time of 21.38 seconds, placing him at 13th overall in the nation currently. The senior also competed in the 60m finishing tied for seventh amongst D-I competitors with a time of 6.96 seconds. Last but not least, he rounded out his day helping the men's 4x400 relay team to a second place finish. Vaughn, accompanied by Angel Coburn, Jordan May and Taylor Sykes, finished with a time of 3:14.98.
Williams finished second amongst D-I competitors in the men's 60m hurdles with a time of 8.13 seconds. Sykes also performed well individually finishing fifth in the 500m with a time of 1:04.31.
The men's distance medley relay team, made up of William McReynolds, Austin Savage, Craig Morgan and Marcus Hatchett, rounded things out with a sixth place finish in a time of 10:12.38, placing them at 10th in the nation.
Next up, the Patriots head to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech Hokie Invitational Jan. 24th and 25th.
