Fred Hardy Invitational: Live Results
Raleigh Relays: Live Results
Raleigh Relays Live Video: Day One | Day Two
FAIRFAX, Va. – Another split weekend for the George Mason men's and women's track and field teams will send a smaller group to one of the larger meets in the country and a handful of throwers just down the road for an opportunity to continue to grow.
The Patriots will split up between the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., and the Fred Hardy Invitational in nearby Richmond, Va. Both meets begin Friday and conclude Saturday. Both days of the Raleigh Relays can be watched online at ESPN3.com.
About 25 student-athletes – mainly distance runners, jumpers and a couple relay teams – will compete at the Raleigh Relays, which has more than 2,000 individual entries and 254 relay teams.
At the Raleigh Relays, there is an obvious spotlight on the sprint relays. In fact, the meet features the 4x200-meter relay, which is not run at the NCAA Championships.
“It is an opportunity to showcase our strength a little bit in the long sprints,” head coach Andrew Gerard said.
Stuart Lampen-Crowell and Steven Flynn, coming off a second-place finish at the Tribe Open, will compete in the 5,000-meter run. Jennifer Nakamura and Amber Hawkins will participate in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after finishing second and third, respectively, last weekend at the Tribe Open.
The Fred Hardly Invitational allows a good chance for development for the Mason throwers, which include just three upperclassmen and nine freshmen and sophomores. In the throwing events, Gerard said the transition from high school to college can be a difficult one. The size of the shot put and discus increase. For many, the javelin and hammer throw are new events – ones not carried at many high schools in the country.
Thus, getting more reps, which the Fred Hardy Invitational offers, is a welcome sight for a young squad.
“The transition a lot of times from high school throwers to college is a step one, especially on the male side,” Gerard said. “So getting them the opportunity to throw three more throws or have the chance to throw three more throws is a big advantage. That's why we split up (and went to two different meets).”
After dispersing the team to three different meets last weekend in two states, Gerard hopes to build off the momentum of a strong opening weekend.
“I think we were pleased (with the first weekend),” he said. “We certainly have had some opening weekends where things have been rougher and people have not been as on top of the results right off the bat. Sometimes you can see the setup for future results. But this time some of the results came through so it was good… If we're fortunate to get some good weather this weekend, which I think we will, we can get a lot more stuff done.”
