The George Mason men's and women's cross country teams both finished third at the James Madison Invitational.  The men raced in a 7.9k, while the women raced a 5.2k. 

Michael Conway led the way for the men, finishing first overall with a time of 24:45.90.  Meanwhile, Bethany Sachtleben led the way for the women, finishing fourth overall with a time of 18:25.10.  Conway's impressive time also ranks fifth all-time in course history at New Market Battlefield.  Meanwhile, Sachtleben's impressive time ranks eighth all-time in course history. 

Steven Flynn also finished with an impressive time of 25:22.20 to place 11th overall and second for the Patriots.  Other strong finishers for Mason included freshman Logan Miller crossing the line 18th overall in a time of 25:40.90 and James Leuhrs with a time of 25:48.20, good for 22nd overall.  Adam Lafemina, James Poyer, and Stuart Lampen-Crowell finished one after another with times of 25:53.80, 25:58.80, and 26:02, respectively.  Director of T&F and XC Andrew Gerard saw room for improvement on the course today.

"For the men today, we were ok, not great but the race clearly revealed what we need to work on in the coming weeks - better establishing our scoring pack and keeping our leaders in the right range,” says Gerard.  “Conway did a great job. He was very controlled and looked smooth the whole way - that performance is fifth all-time on that course, so that is very significant. Huge congratulations to him."

Reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week, Bailey Kolonich crossed the line second for George Mason and 17th overall with a time of 19:11.90.  Following Kolonich, Jennifer Nakamura finished 21st overall with a time of 19:45.70.  Katie Treichel and Lauren Givens finished one after another with times of 20:22.90 and 20:31.20, respectively.  Coach Gerard was pleased with the women's race at New Market Battlefield.

"As a team, we had a very good effort overall. Several key women improved nicely, working together better through the middle of the race, which will be important,” says Gerard.  “Georgetown is very deep this year, but we matched up better against JMU than we have recently so that is a good measuring stick for us. Bethany ran very well against three All-Americans up front - before today that time would have been fifth all-time on that course. I'm really pleased with where she is strength-wise right now."

The Patriots will host the Mason Invitational in Leesburg, Virginia at the Oatlands Plantation on Saturday, October 4.