FAIRFAX, VA.- George Mason cross country began their season competing at the Richmond Spider Alumni Open. The women's team completed the course finishing in 4th place with 152 points. The men's team ended the race at 7th with a point total of 205. The Spider Alumni Open was the perfect opportunity for some of the newcomers to make their debut with the George Mason uniform and to execute new game plans for future races. 

Max Vom Saal, Tarek Benlamkaddem, Jared Ruggles all made their debuts with the Patriot colors completing the race with ease. Tarek was the first Patriot to cross the line with a time of 19:08.1, overall, he finished in 31st. Jared Ruggles came in second for George Mason with a time of 19:27.5. The experience gained during the race was immense for the runners of George Mason in preparation for the A10 Championships which will be held at the same course. 

"Some very mixed results on the men's side but, from a learning perspective, it was valuable", said head coach Andrew Gerard. "Gaining the chance to see the terrain for the conference championships in November was positive and then, also, there were a couple key lessons that were clearly illustrated with this very young lineup. We have a ton more pieces to put on the line but I thought Tarek and Nathanael (who ran unattached) especially did some nice things and will be big contributors for us in the very near future."
 
Aitana Abrante, Ellie Desmond, Alexa Pinon, Miranda Pinon, Ella Semple, and Ava Taylor have also made their debuts for George Mason competing in the women's 4k race. Ella Semple in her first ever NCAA race claimed 14th spot overall and was the first Patriot to complete the race with a time of 14:13.8. Kenzie Dillman was not far behind and finished the course in 23rd with a time of 14:30.8. Sophomore, Aylin Yirmibesoglu, finished among the top three for the Patriots placing 37th. The group gave it an extra push in their final lap to move up from a 7th place finish to 4th and to show that they will give it their all until the very end.

"This meet is a great way to change gears from the end of the summer and jump start the season", said Coach Tony. "The goal today was not to fully 'send it,' but to build skills as groups, because excellent cross country teams compete in packs. And so these ladies executed that race plan well, and it's something that will be very valuable as we continue getting better and more competitive. Ella, who had her NCAA debut, and Kenzie, did a great job up front but those following groups also really did well with being patient. We had identified a point in the race to take a little competitive license, which felt good to see and it moved us from 7th to 4th. So it was a solid day."
 
Next Up:
George Mason will travel to Annapolis, Maryland to compete in the Cantello Invitational hosted by Navy. The meet will occur next Saturday, September 7^th at 9 am.