PRINCETON, N.J. — The George Mason men's and women's cross country team wrapped up their 2026 regular season schedule at the Princeton Fall Classic on Friday evening in Princeton, N.J.
The Patriots faced a loaded field of nationally ranked opponents, including Syracuse (men's No. 8), Princeton (men's No. 8, women's No. 25), Penn State (women's No. 24), and Boston College (women's No. 29), as well as Atlantic 10 foes La Salle and Saint Joseph's.
Women's 6k
For the second consecutive meet, senior
Sarah Clark paced the Patriots. Her finishing time of 22:57.9 was good for 53
rd overall and fifth among competing Atlantic 10 runners.
Just behind Clark, freshman
Myriam Garrouteigt also turned in a top-60 performance, placing 58
th in 22:22.7.
Junior
Miranda Pinon (22:58.1), junior
Ailbhe Barnes (23:01.8), and senior
Kara Mickelson (23:03.8) rounded out George Mason's scoring runners.
"We have been training much better the last few weeks," said assistant coach
Tony Mihalich. "I think the group ran better, and felt better, than our last time out, but the 'racing better' is what we will continue working to figure out. I'd be more concerned if we weren't in a good spot with fitness. Eager to showcase that. But our 3-4-5 ladies moved up a ton of places through the race, especially Myriam."
Men's 8k
The Patriots were one of just two teams (along with No. 8 Syracuse) to post three top-17 individual finishes Friday evening, as George Mason earned a fourth-place team finish in a highly competitive field.
2025 Atlantic 10 All-Conference honoree
Biruk Beardsley led the Patriots with a sixth-place finish in 24:16.3. Sophomore
Tarek Benlamkaddem crossed the finish line shortly thereafter, placing 8
th in 24:21.4.
Graduate student
Alex DeRoussel, who already has a pair of individual titles on his resume this season, rounded out George Mason's top three with a 17th-place finish in 24:35.3.
Sophomore
Daniel Hayes and freshman
James Millare capped off the Patriots scoring group, placing 50
th and 61
st, respectively.
"It was a much better race, team-wise, on the men's side," said head coach
Andrew Gerard. "We had a real challenge coming off of Richmond to regain our energy and mojo, get our momentum moving in the right direction again, and the guys responded well. There are still things to improve, but this was much more in line with what we are capable of."
With the regular season behind them, the Patriots will now turn their attention to the Atlantic 10 Championships on October 31st in Mechanicsville, Va.
