RICHMOND, Va. – The George Mason track and field program claimed seven individual titles at the 2022 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Mason finished second in the men's team standings with 128 points, behind champion Rhode Island (184.5). The women placed fifth with 79 points as UMass won the title (123.5).
 
Graduate student Jaylen Simmons was named Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Field Performer for the fifth time in his career. He won his fifth A-10 shot put title on Sunday with a winning-throw of 17.57 meters. 
 
He added a gold medal in the discus – the first A-10 discus title of his career. Sitting in third with one throw to go, Simmons broke his own school record in the event with a toss of 53.67 meters to sit atop the leader board. 
 
Sophomore Bobby Kestyn also had a career day in the discus, setting a new personal-best of 51.37 meters to earn a bronze medal.
 
Junior Jack Ikenberry claimed the Atlantic 10 title in the 5,000m after breaking the meet record in a time of 14:08.79. It marked the second A-10 title of his career. Junior Kai Muniz added a seventh-place finish in the event, running a PR of 14:35.85.
 
Junior Cason Gardner was crowned the Atlantic 10 champion in the men's decathlon. He put together an incredible effort over the last two days, finishing with a PR of 6,788 points. He sat in second with one event to go before running a season-best time of 4:55.47 in the 1500m to surpass the leader and take the title. 
 
Freshman Ellis Nei also had a strong showing in the decathlon, finishing fifth with a personal-best 6,276 points. 
 
On the women's side, freshman Abby Weening placed fifth in the heptathlon with 4,553 points. Graduate student Lindsey Schmidt was next in sixth with 4,534 points. 

Graduate student Grace Furlong earned a silver medal in the women's triple jump with a mark of 12.09 meters. Sophomore Kelsey Sebwe also scored for the Patriots in the event, placing fourth with a jump of 11.99 meters. 
 
In addition, Mason scored points in several running events on Sunday. Sophomore James Seal just missed the podium in the 1500m, running a fourth-place time of 3:56.69. Freshman Aiden Dorf notched seventh with a time of 3:57.09. The duo combined for seven valuable team points in the event.
 
Sophomore Sarah Francis placed sixth in the 5,000-meter run, finishing in a time of 17:20.20 and dumping three points into the team total. 

Junior Alexis Anderson tabbed fifth in the women's 800m finals (2:14.16) while sophomore Micah Harris took fifth on the men's side (1:55.84). They each contributed four crucial points for the Patriots.
 
Sophomore Adia Palmer just missed out on the podium in the 400m hurdles, placing fourth in a time of 1:03.38. Senior Kelly-Ann Downer (1:02.66) and Jarett Flaker (49.63) added 8th-place times in the 400m. 
 
Up next, Mason will look ahead to the IC4A/ECAC Championships on May 13-15 in Williamsburg, Va.