FAIRFAX, Va. — George Mason track and field student-athlete Jaylen Simmons was named Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Field Performer at the 2022 A-10 Indoor Championships.
The Patriots wrapped up competition on Sunday at the George Mason Field House in Fairfax, Va. The Mason men finished third in the team standings with 111 points behind champion Rhode Island (199) and Davidson (114). The women placed fourth with 78 points behind champion VCU (126).
In total, the Patriots notched 15 medals over the two-day championship event, highlighted by seven A-10 titles. Mason earned nine medals on the final day of competition, including five gold medals.
Simmons, who claimed his fourth A-10 Most Outstanding Field Performer honor of his career, won his fourth A-10 shot put title on Sunday with a first-place toss of 17.74 meters. He now has five A-10 titles to his career, winning the weight throw on Saturday. It marked the first time in his career he's swept the top spots in both events at the A-10 Indoor Championships.
Junior Cason Gardner earned his second Atlantic 10 heptathlon title on Sunday. He finished with a personal-best 5,269 points to earn gold in the event. He won the high jump (2.00m) and posted a PR of 7.15 in the 60m dash.
Graduate student Grace Furlong claimed her first Atlantic 10 title, winning the women's triple jump. She posted the winning mark of 12.44 meters on her first attempt. It marked Mason's first women's triple jump win since 2016.
Sophomore Isaiah Carter repeated as the Atlantic 10 200m indoor champion, winning the event with a time of 21.69. He won the title in 2020 (the conference did not hold an indoor championship meet in 2021). Mason has won the men's 200m crown in seven of the last eight indoor championships, including three straight.
The men's 4x400 relay crown returned to Fairfax after Mason's Carter, Elijah Brown, Paul McClain and Jarett Flaker ran a first-place time of 3:15.27 in the event. The women's 4x400 relay placed second (3:50.08) behind winner Richmond (3:46.56).
Senior Kelly-Ann Downer garnered a silver medal in the women's 400m finals with a time of 56.50 while sophomore Michka-Mae Hyde earned silver in the women's 500m finals, running a personal-record time of 1:14.49.
Brown notched bronze in the 500m finals with a time of 1:05.31. Flaker finished fifth in the 400m finals with a time of 49.10 while sophomore Aiden Dorf placed seventh in the mile (4:15.52).
Sophomore Sarah Francis recorded a fifth-place finish in the 3000m finals (9:51.38) while junior Jack Ikenberry placed eighth on the men's side (8:31.36).
Junior Alexis Anderson notched fourth in the 800m finals (2:14.32) while McClain placed seventh for the men (1:59.54). Junior Noelle Saine finished eighth in the 1000m finals (3:04.62) and sophomore Ed Deskins was eighth in the 200m finals (22.60).
Elsewhere in the field events, freshman Ellis Nei finished sixth in the men's heptathlon with 4,661 points. Thrower Jessica McRae took eighth in the shot put with a toss of 12.90 meters while junior Dhiambi Otete placed eighth in the women's triple jump (11.51m).
