Bishop, Horton Lead Patriots on First Day of A-10 Championships

Day One Results

George Mason Athletics Men's Track & Field 5/7/2016 8:11:00 PM

Day One Results
Schedule

FAIRFAX, Va. – Raeshawn Bishop surprised himself and Lindsay Horton added to her medal collection.

Both George Mason field events specialists got the Patriots off to a great start with individual titles on day one of the Atlantic 10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at George Mason Stadium.

Bishop won his first conference championship, flying to first in the long jump. Horton, a senior, defended her A-10 crown, winning the pole vault for the second straight year. They accounted for both first-place finishes on the day for the Patriots.

After the opening day, and with just six events scored, the George Mason women are in first with 40 points. Massachusetts is just behind, in second with 36.5 points. On the men's side, the Patriots are in second with 54 points. Rhode Island is atop the leaderboard with 68 points.

Day two will start at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday with the continuation of the heptathlon. The field events and running events start at 10:30 a.m. The Mason men are trying to repeat as A-10 champs while the women are aiming for a three-peat.

For Bishop, winning the long jump exceeded his expectations. He returned to the track just three weeks ago after sustaining an injury at the end of the indoor season. The sophomore from Louisa County, Va., saved his best jump for last, with a personal-best leap of 7.37 meters or 24 feet and 2 ¼ inches.

His jump set off a boisterous reaction from his teammates and assistant coach Sarana Hyatt. He then erupted when his mark stood up after Rhode Island's Casey Burley finished just inches behind in second place with a jump of 7.33 meters.

“This feels good because I didn't actually think it was going to happen this year,” said Bishop, who will compete in the triple jump Sunday. “I had a bad hamstring and back injury in indoor conference. But my coach and my team got me hype for me out here. Coach Hyatt kept getting me pumped up. She gave me a long message (on Friday) about how she believed in me and thinks I can go further.”

Horton wrapped up her A-10 career with her fourth conference championship – sweeping the indoor and outdoor crowns in the pole vault the last two years. The senior from Blacksburg, Va., cleared 3.86 meters or 12 feet, eight inches. She'll turn her focus to increase ng her height next week at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Princeton, N.J.

“It feels great,” Horton said. “The first two jumps were good. When the bar went up I got a little nervous. Hopefully next weekend I'll get the height that I wanted. As a senior, you always want to win and defend your title. You can't ever complain about a win. So I'm happy.”

The Patriots received seven combined podium finishes on the men's and women's sides.
Senior Emily Muniz placed second in the hammer throw with a heave of 51.08 meters (167 feet, seven inches). Senior Wahnetah Carty also took second, with a leap of 5.78 meters (18 feet, 11 ¾ inches) in the long jump.

On the men's side, freshman Grayson Morgan wowed his teammates and coaches with a second-place finish in the 10,000-meter run in the last event of the day. Morgan posted a personal-best time of 30:29.35 in just his second time running the 10K in his young collegiate career.

Junior Logan Besougloff placed third in the pole vault with a leap of 4.70 meters (15 feet, five inches). Freshman Junias Agyei also snagged a bronze model, joining Bishop on the podium for the long jump after a mark of 7.13 meters (23 feet, 4 ¾ inches).

Sophomore John Seals leads the decathlon after five events. He sits in front with 3,872 points thanks to first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash, 400-meter run and long jump.

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