AUSTIN, Texas - The George Mason University men's track & field 4x400m relay team saw its dream 2019 season come to a close Wednesday, despite another outstanding effort on the track during the NCAA Championship at the University of Texas.

Mason unofficially ran a 3:06.48, which placed the Patriots 12th in a powerhouse 24-team field, and ahead of Iowa State, Arizona and Purdue in its heat. However, upon further review, the Patriots committed a lane violation during the race which ultimately disqualified the Green & Gold from competition.

Despite the unfortunate result, the Patriots represented George Mason University with poise and excellence throughout the season. Mason won the indoor and outdoor Atlantic 10 relay titles and putting together a phenomenal performance at the NCAA preliminary in Jacksonville to advance to Austin.

"It was a great year for this group," head coach Andrew Gerard said. "Although it was an unfortunate way for it to end, the guys ran well throughout the round and it doesn't take anything away from them for their year as a whole. Sport is life and sometimes mistakes happen, but you learn from it and move forward. Our 4x400m relay legacy at Mason is so strong and deep, and this group certainly continued that legacy. We are very proud of them."

Senior Rico Gomez provided the highlight of the race for Mason Wednesday while running the fastest anchor (44.88) of any team in the heat.

It wrapped up a bullish final season for Gomez in a Mason uniform. At the A-10 Outdoor Championship, Gomez won the 400-meter title and was a part of two gold-medal winning relay teams. For his efforts, he was named the A-10 Most Outstanding Track performer. A two-time gold medalist at the A-10 Indoor Championship, Gomez won the 200-meter dash and the 500-meter dash, earning him a clean sweep of the A-10 Most Outstanding Track Performer award for both seasons. He then PR'd twice in Jacksonville while advancing to the semifinals of the 400-meter dash at the NCAA preliminary.

Mason also bids farewell to senior Junias Agyei, who played a pivotal role in Mason advancing to Austin in the relay. He wraps up a strong career in which he won an A-10 championship title as part of Mason's 4x100m relay and contributed to a series of A-10 title-winning teams on the men's side.

Mason will welcome back the first two legs of the relay to the lineup next season. Both junior Tyler Benson and redshirt-junior Evander Pierre will look to get the Patriots back into NCAA contention during their final year for the Green & Gold in 2020.

The Patriot baton is now handed to senior Sarah Moore, who will compete in the 400-meter dash Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU.