Full Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In a performance ranking among some of the guttiest in the history of the George Mason University athletic department, the Patriot men's 4x400m relay team blazed its way to glory Saturday at Hodges Stadium, racing past some of the top programs in the nation to qualify for the NCAA Championship and keep the team's dream season alive.

The fantastic Mason quartet ran a combined 3:05.02 to finish second in its heat and comfortably lock up a berth in the national semifinals. Trailing only Florida, the Green & Gold finished in front of Purdue, North Carolina, Michigan, Mississippi State, Rutgers and Maryland.

The Patriot four included junior Tyler Benson (1st leg), redshirt-junior Evander Pierre (2nd leg), senior Junias Agyei (3rd leg) and senior Rico Gomez (anchor). Freshman Decker Barborek was not a part of the quartet Saturday, but raced as part of Mason's A-10 title team and played a prominent role in preparation throughout the week heading into Saturday's performance.

Benson made the finish possible with an electric opening leg, then Pierre kept that positioning with an outstanding second split. The duo combined for a time of 1:33.48 which put Mason in third (1:33.48) halfway through the race.

In the third portion, Agyei - dubbed the X Factor by Gomez - put together one of the strongest efforts of his career, with his split of 46.77 keeping Mason in third out of eight heading into the final quarter of the race.

At that point, Gomez - the 2019 George Mason Athlete of the Year and two-time A-10 Outstanding Track Performer - made it a point that his career would not come to an end at that moment. The Upper Marlboro, Md., product ran the race of his life, surging the team into second place with an incredible 44.79 split to pass North Carolina and launch the Green & Gold into a spot in Austin.

Gomez's 44.79 split was the third-fastest amongst all 24 anchor legs in the 4x400m relay Saturday.

"They had a laser focus from the start of warm ups," associate head coach Randy Bungard said. "All four of the guys were determined to keep their season going. They have a chemistry amongst each other that translates on to the track. They trust each other, they respect each other, and that truly pays dividends in competition. I couldn't be happier for our team."

The Mason 4x400m relay team now joins senior 400-meter stalwart Sarah Moore in Austin, with NCAA Championship action scheduled for June 5-8.

Elsewhere on Saturday, sophomore Jaylen Simmons made his presence known on the national stage in his first NCAA competition in the shot put.

Simmons had the unenviable position of throwing first in the opening flight of competition. But the sophomore handled the pressure with gusto, sending his first throw out to 16.51m (54-2).

Simmons then improved in each of his final two attempts. On his second, the Waynesboro, Va., product extended his mark to 16.94m (55-7). Then on his third, Simmons nearly hit his PR of 17.45m, throwing 17.27m (56-8) to finish 33rd overall in competition.

That finish improved his standing a solid 12 spots from his opening seed of No. 45.

"I'm delighted for Jaylen," throws coach Becky Hartley said. "He performed well under pressure. It's a tough job to get ready for NCAA regional competition at all, but to wait to perform until the last day and it's your first time, it adds some pressure. He handled it very well. The experience of being here helps to deal with the pressure in future competition. It also will make him hungry for more. He didn't quite reach his PR, so he'll use it as motivation in his summer training and heading into the season next year."