Hurricane Invitational Results | Tribe Invitational Results | VCU Ram Invitational Results

FAIRFAX, Va. – Spread out at three meets in two states, the George Mason men's and women's track and field teams began the outdoor season with stellar performances across the board.

Led by Michelle Wallerstedt's school-record toss in the discus, the Patriots burst out of the gate during a weekend that included meets in Virginia and Miami. Several student-athletes competed in the VCU Ram Invitational in Richmond and the Tribe Invitational at William & Mary in Williamsburg. Mason also  participated in the Hurricane Invitational in Miami, where Wallerstedt set the school record with a heave of 53.55 meters in the discus.

"Overall, while we were split in three different locations, I was very pleased with what we accomplished this weekend," George Mason coach Andrew Gerard said. "No pun intended but I think we came out of the blocks very strongly, building nicely on the momentum from indoors and especially in some of the outdoor only events. Michelle's discus is certainly a highlight but the javelin, 4x100s, steeplechase, 400-meter hurdles and 100s also went very well. And, while the 400 is an indoor event, those folks, especially Rico Gomez, really took advantage of the good conditions and rolled. While it's early, if you look at the NCAA regional and national lists, we had probably had as good a weekend all around as any team in the country."

Wallerstedt, a redshirt senior from Omaha, Neb., led the charge by winning the discus throw in the college division at the Hurricane Invitational with a toss of 175 feet, 8 inches. She broke the school record by nearly a meter, smashing Tamika Powell's throw of 51.87 meters set in 1996.

Also at the Hurricane Invitational, sophomore Rico Gomez won the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 46.99. In the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Kornelius Klah won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 52.99. On the women's side, junior Sommer Sharpe (1:02.39) and freshman Brittany Preston (1:03.62) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles.

The 4x100-meter relay teams both started off the outdoor campaign in solid fashion. The men's team (Ayo Raymond, Bernard Freeman, David Stone and Junias Agyei) took first with a time of 40.35. The women's squad of Preston, Lucas, Caela Williams and Taylor Williams grabbed third in 46.63.

In the 400-meter dash on the women's side, junior Ashley Lucas placed fifth overall – and second among collegiate runners – with a time of 12.17 in the 100-meter dash of the college division. On the men's side, sophomore Junias Agyei also took fifth with a wind-aided time of 10.57. In the javelin, senior Ryan Young placed third with a throw of 56.42 meters.

At the Tribe Invitational at William & Mary, the Patriots dominated the 3,000-meter men's steeplechase. Five placed in the top six – Paul Adam (9:28.05), Trent Lancaster (9:37.78), Jonathan Schloth (9:42.14), Dustin Jutras (9:48.84) and Marcus Hatchett (9:48.84). Adam, a sophomore took first while Lancaster was close behind.

The Patriots are back in action next weekend at two meets. Mason will again split up, competing at the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., and the Fred Hardy Invitational at Richmond. Both meets will start Friday and conclude Saturday.