Fairfax, Va.- George Mason has completed their participation at the NCAA Regionals held in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The women's team placed 17
th with 480 points and the men's team finished 11
th with 333 points.
This year's positioning has been a great improvement for the Patriots for both teams. In 2023, the women's team placed 26
th and one year later, the Patriots went up 9 spots. The men's team also went up the standings by 5 spots, in 2023 they finished in 16
th.
The first Patriot to cross the line in the men's squad was
Wesley Bond with a 42
nd place finish with a time of 31:08.5.
Biruk Beardsley finished second for George Mason, 54
th overall, with a time of 31:26.3.
Gavin Mogck placed 71
st and was third for the Patriots. The Most Outstanding Rookie Performer of the A10 Championships,
Tarek Benlamkaddem, came fourth for George Mason with a time of 32:04.7. Alex Deroussel was the final Patriot to score some point for George Mason and help them reach the 11
th spot.
Ella Semple continues her form and finished first for the Patriots again as she has done for the whole season. Ella completed the 6k with a time of 21:43.7. The Rookie Performer of the A10 Championships,
Maisie Burns, continues to show that she ready for the big stage by finishing 63
rd at the NCAA Regionals. Another newcomer for the Patriots,
Ellie Desmond, has made an immediate impact since joining George Mason finishing 3
rd for the squad with a time of 22:29.9.
Ava Bordner clutched up for George Mason becoming the 4
th Patriot to cross the finish line at the NCAA Regionals.
Kenzie Dillman was the final Patriot to score some points to help George Mason finish in 17
th.
George Mason entered the season with many newcomers who stepped up to the occasion and have pushed the Patriots to a higher finish. The future is bright for the cross country team at George Mason.
"Tremendous team results today! We continued our upward trajectory – last year, the men were 16
th and the women were 26
th – and beat a pile of very seasoned and high-quality teams that we had pinpointed as bench markers", said head coach
Andrew Gerard. "Overall, we made really good progress this year and with so many young athletes, we're very excited already for the upcoming seasons."
