Annapolis, Md. – The George Mason men's and women's cross country teams posted their highest finishes of the season at the Navy Invitational on Friday evening at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
 
The Patriots men placed  2nd, and the women placed 4th.
 
"We had a very productive race today," said Coach Gerard of the men's team. "We had targeted specific guys working tightly with each other and that happened well. From a terrain standpoint, this is probably the most challenging course we'll run all year, and the way the guys handled it bodes very well for where our strength puts us now, six weeks from the start of the championship season. Overall, I'm very pleased with the effort and results today."
 
The men placed second out of 10 teams led by Jack Ikenberry's 3rd place (23:54.6) finish. He was followed by Wesley Bond 7th (24:13.0), Mason Love 17th (24:58.1) and Josh Walker 18th (25:01.9). The last runner to score for Mason was Grayson Clark 21st (25:11.4).
 
Mason's women finished fourth behind Annabelle Eastman's 4th place (21:53.5) finish.
 
"The women's race was solid," said Coach Mihalich. "Today's race was the end of the 'early season meets,' that are useful for the bigger races later in the season. With that in mind, the game plan was designed with some systematic key points, and the ladies put in a good effort. Some of the new folks debuted at 6K, so they now know they're prepared for the distance. The more seasoned members of the team are also finishing up a crucial base-building type of training. Plus, this course was one of more challenging ones we will see, which was excellent from a preparation standpoint. We are one step closer to putting it together for the heart of the season for the Paul Short Invitational in two weeks."
 
Following Eastman were Mason's Sarah Francis 18th (22:41.3) and Noelle Saine 25th (23:01.7). Two freshmen, Katryna Aulenbach 41st (23:52.9) and Elena Farinholt 44th (23:56.1), rounded out the top five.
 
Both teams will compete at the historic Paul Short Invitational on Sept. 30 hosted by Lehigh University.