Picture by Art Pittman

George Mason Ends Day 1 of A10 Championships at The Top

Women's Track & Field 5/4/2024 9:08:00 PM

Fairfax, Va.- George Mason finishes Day 1 of the A10 Outdoor Championships with two gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals. The Patriots have proven to the conference once again that the field events team is one of the best and the one to look out for. For the running events, many of the George Mason runners have qualified for the finals in hopes to bring in more points for the Patriots.

The championship began with the men's hammer throw and both Arsalan Yaqubi and Bobby Kestyn were more than ready for the event to begin. Arsalan set the tone real high by breaking the school record in his second attempt at the hammer throw. Arsalan achieved a new personal best and new school record with a mark of 61.40m. Bobby Kestyn also made it to the podium after finishing in third for the bronze with a personal best of 60.16m.

Geni Roberts continues to prove that he is one of the best jumpers in the conference after securing the silver medal in the long jump with a new personal best of 7.23m. Jordynn Toliver was given the opportunity to compete in the javelin throw and she delivered by achieving a silver medal throwing a distance of 40.39m.

Meanwhile, inside the Field House, Amber Askelson secured the bronze medal for the Patriots after going over 3.80m in the pole vault. Colton Ocetnik gave a show to the spectators tying his season best to get the silver medal in the pole vault (4.95m) but there was more coming up. Walt Bannerman continues his dominance in the pole vault with a new personal best of 5.20m which was more than enough to secure the gold medal and to leave with a standing ovation from the crowd.

Majority of the runners qualified for the finals which will be done tomorrow starting at 11 am. Kenzie Dillman will be in the finals for the 1,500m run, Alex Lombardo, Cameron Stearns, and Nick Emmert have all qualified for the finals for the men's 1,500m. The freshman, Stephanie Dundas has also qualified for the finals in the 100m hurdles with a personal best of 14.62. Dean Johnson and Albert Asare both qualified for the 110m hurdles finals with Albert securing a new personal best of 14.30. Susan Adenitan and Mia Suero have also moved on to the next round for the 100m dash. Susan also qualified for another final, the 200m dash.

Jarett Flaker and Aidan Walcott will be present for the 400m finals with Jalen Johnson who will be competing in the 100m dash. Michka-Mae Hyde continues her strong performances with a qualification to the finals for the 800m run with a time of 2:09.72. Joseph Queen will also be competing the next day in the men's 800m race. Adia Palmer raced in the 400m hurdles and will be present for the finals with Isaiah Carter who also qualified for the finals in the 200m.

Kailynn Tyson also secured a new personal best and was the best jumper in the George Mason squad competing in the long jump. In her first attempt, she reached a distance of 5.84m which was enough to secure the 5^th spot. Olamide Enajekpo also had a personal best in the hammer throw finishing in fourth with a new mark of 54.42m. Nourene Nabbus fought through her competition in the 3000m steeplechase and recorded a season best with a time of 11:01.25 to give George Mason more points in the standings. Kate O'Neill, Wes Bond, and Robbie Jenkins also performed strongly in the 10,000m run to bring back more points for the Patriots.

The Patriots will be back in action tomorrow with more field events and the finals for the running events. The first event will be at 10:30 am with the women's shot put and triple jump starting the meet. The first running event will be at 11 am with the women's 4x100m relay, and concluding the championships will be the men's 4x400m relay.

Current Standings after Day 1:

Men's T&F: