KINGSTON, R.I. – The George Mason men's and women's track and field teams captured eight individual conference championships in a strong showing at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday at the University of Rhode Island.
Junior
Jaylen Simmons and freshmen
Isaiah Carter and Vilde Våge Henriksen were recognized by the Atlantic 10 for their performances at the meet, and over the 2020 indoor season. Simmons was named Men's Field Performer of the Year while Carter and Henriksen picked up Rookie of the Year honors.
The Mason men, the defending A-10 champions, finished second in team standings with 168 points. Host Rhode Island (180) captured its fifth A-10 title in the last seven years.
The Mason women came in fourth with 91 points. UMass claimed the women's title with 120.5 points, followed by VCU (107) and Rhode Island (103.5).
The Mason men earned six individual conference championships over the two-day competition, behind Simmons' record-breaking performance in the shot put.
Simmons, a Waynesboro, Va. native, broke a 23-year old school record in the shot put with a personal best toss of 19.33m – besting Perry Gaskins's mark of 18.52m in 1997.
The gold-medal toss also broke the meet and facility record at the A-10 Championships, set by Charlotte's Jake Deaton in 2013 (18.55m). The historic performance ranks 21st in the nation.
In the running events, freshman Carter became an Atlantic 10 champion in the 200m dash with a time of 21.74. The performance earned Carter A-10 Men's Rookie of the Year honors.
Junior
Jordan Turner took first in the 60m dash with a personal-best time of 6.80 while junior
Jacob Weigel won gold in the 500m (PR 1:04.98). Turner also added a third-place finish in the 200m (22.02).
After owning the lead in the heptathlon through four events, sophomore
Cason Gardner took care of business on Sunday, winning gold in the event with 4,974 points. He placed first in the 60m dash, 1000m and high jump.
On Saturday,
Harrison Shotwell won the gold medal in the pole vault with a personal-best mark of 4.97m. The Mason men also added four individual silver medals and three individual bronze medals, to go along with bronze medals in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays.
The Mason women earned two individual gold medals;
Grace Gaudin in the weight throw and
Hannah Robertson in the pole vault.
Freshman Henriksen picked up a silver medal in the mile (4:55.13) and bronze medal in the 1000m (2:52.82) to round out her outstanding rookie campaign. The three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week was named A-10 Women's Rookie of the Year.
Sophomore
Annabelle Eastman added a pair of bronze medals in the 5000m (16:46.06) and 3000m (9:47.57) while senior
Taylor Williams earned silver in the 60m dash (7.65).
Overall, the Mason women totaled three silver medals and five bronze medals, including a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay, to close out the Atlantic 10 Championships.
