Women's Track & Field | 1/13/2019 6:34:00 AM

Results

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – In one of the larger meets of their young season, the George Mason men's and women's indoor track and field teams recorded impressive performances in a wide range of events.

The Patriots hit the road for the first time this season, competing at the Great Dane Classic hosted by the University of Albany on Saturday at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Center. No team scoring was held for the event but Mason had several top five finishes in just its second meet of the season in a field that featured more than 25 schools and numerous professional athletes competing unattached.

"Lots of excellent performances across all event groups," Mason head coach Andrew Gerard said. "Overall, I thought we brought good intensity and competed well all the way through a long day. We've got some nice momentum going right now, which translated into a very notable presence at the meet. In most events we contested, we were in thick of the battle and ended winning or getting podium-type finishes in many events."

For the men, graduate student Blaine Lacey won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.74. Thomas Amabile stayed perfect in a George Mason uniform since transferring from the University of Virginia. The junior won his third race as a Patriot, winning the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:10.97.

Freshman and reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week Cason Gardner tied for fourth in the high jump. His mark of 1.99 meters matched UMBC's Divinus Muteba for the best collegiate performance at the meet.

In the 200-meter dash, the Patriots posted the three best collegiate performances at the meet, with redshirt junior Evander Pierre (48.82) and senior Kornelius Klah (49.22) taking second and third, respectively, and junior Tyler Benson (49.67) finishing fifth.

Senior Rico Gomez (1:03.41) was the top collegiate runner in the 500-meter dash, placing third. He also took sixth and was the second-fastest collegiate runner in the 60-meter dash with a time of 21.77. Redshirt junior Colin Cannon finished fifth (third collegiately) in the mile with a time of 4:18.88.

The 4x400-meter relay team placed second in 3:18.15, behind only host Albany (3:17.39).

Sophomore Harrison Shotwell was third in the pole vault – and second collegiately – clearing a mark of 4.5 meters.

Sophomore Jaylen Simmons was the top collegiate performer in the shot put in taking second with a toss of 16.45 meters. Sophomores Benjamin Viau (15.74 meters) and Avory Ransome (15.20) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

On the women's side, senior Sarah Moore and junior Ashley Lewis (1:12.77) went 1-2 in the 500-meter run. Moore edged her teammate with a winning time of 1:12.09. Fellow senior Ciara Donohue was also victorious, winning the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:42.15.

The women also ran away with first place in the 4x400-meter relay as freshman Kelly-Ann Downer, Moore, Lewis and senior Taylor Williams posted a time of 3:44.62 – nearly eight seconds faster than runner-up LIU Brooklyn (3:52.16).

Downer also placed second in 400-meter dash with a time of 56.82. Reigning A-10 Field Performer of the Week Kiana Stallworth took fourth in the 60-meter dash, finishing in 7.75. Junior Maggie Morgan was fifth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:55.01.

In the pole vault, sophomore Autumn White (3.75 meters) and redshirt freshman Camryn Harris (3.65) placed second and third, respectively, for the Patriots.

The Patriots return to action next weekend with the Keydet Invitational hosted by VMI on Friday and Saturday in Lexington, Va.