George Mason is set to host the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Championships at George Mason Stadium this Saturday and Sunday. The women are looking to defend their A-10 Outdoor title and the men want to improve on their runner-up finish last year.
"We are thrilled to have the championships on our home track this year, said head coach Andrew Gerard.” “With our strong tradition in track and field, to be able to perform at full strength in one of our most meaningful meets in front of our home crowd, friends, parents and admins, that's just a great opportunity. When I announced last year at this same time, that we'd be at home this year, our team roared. That enthusiasm still holds true today. We invite the whole Mason community to come out - if you're an athletics fan, we've got track, baseball, and softball all going on - so our corner of campus should be hopping all weekend. Our event management staff does one of the best jobs in the country of staging athletic events so I expect that it will be a great meet for all the competitors.
"As far as the competition, we expect it to be a fight right to the end on both sides, men and women. The A10 is a tremendously competitive conference but we've made it no secret that we are pointing towards keeping the big trophies right here on Sunday afternoon. That's what we've pointed toward, busted our butts for and what we are aggressively going after. We're still salty from indoors and I can't imagine a better opportunity for us to step up than being at home."
Heading into the weekend the Patriots hold a combined 10 of the conference's top marks including the men's 4x100m relay and the men's and women's 10,000m runs, with Michael Conway (29:48.37) and Bethany Sachtleben (33:32.53) leading the way. Anthony Williams leads the way in the 110 hurdles with a mark of 13.93 and Shavon Briscoe holds the top mark in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.41. Michelle Wallerstedt's distance of 51.87m sits atop the conference in women's discus and Jimi Tele holds the top men's mark in the triple jump at 15.19m.
Saturday's competition is set to begin at 10:30 am with the men's hammer with events for the decathlon and heptathlon beginning at 11:00 and 11:15 a.m. respectively. Track events begin at 2:00 p.m. with the men's 110 hurdle trials followed by the women's 100 hurdles at 2:15. Saturday's events will conclude with the 10,000m runs starting with the women's at 6:30 p.m. followed by men's at 7:15.
Competition continues early Sunday morning with the final events of the decathlon and heptathlon starting at 8:45 and 9:30 a.m. respectively. Women's shot put is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. along with the women's 4x100m relay. Competition wraps up with the men's 4x400m relay at 3:00 p.m.
All track and jump events will be held at the George Mason Stadium as will the javelin throws. All other throws will be conducted at the throws field.
For more information, please visit Championship Central.
