RICHMOND, Va. – George Mason men's and women's cross country opened the 2025 season on Saturday morning at the Spider Alumni Open at Pole Green Park, hosted by the University of Richmond.

The Patriots faced a competitive regional field that included Virginia, William & Mary, Richmond, and American, among others.

Men's Results (6k)
Mason's men finished fifth overall with 121 points, placing behind Virginia (16), William & Mary (80), Richmond (89), and American (95). The Patriots edged VCU (154) and Christopher Newport (202) in a tightly packed team race.

"Good opener for us," said head coach Andrew Gerard. "We raced a limited crew but those that competed, competed well. We'll digest more after looking at the splits and data but quite positive by and large. We'll have a nice block of training to keep progressing in training for the next few weeks but today accomplished what we needed to get done."

Women's Results (4k)
On the women's side, Mason finished seventh overall with 174 points, led by performances from returners and underclassmen competing against some of the region's strongest programs. Virginia (18), William & Mary (59), and Richmond (88) took the top three team spots.

"I think we lost to some teams that we should expect to beat later on this season, but the race plan was to be controlled so I guess that's one of the outcomes," said associate head coach Tony Mihalich. "That said, Ella did a great job out front for us and competed really well with some excellent veterans in the Southeast Region! And the two groups worked really well together, a habit that will help us in all of our future races. Happy to knock the rust off though and eager to get back to work for a few weeks."

The Patriots return to action on Friday, Sept. 19, when they travel to Pennsylvania for the Haverford College Main Line Invitational. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET.