FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's and women's cross country teams took to Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va., for their third race of the season Friday morning at the Richmond Invitational.
The event featured a strong field, including Duke, High Point, and Elon, as well as Atlantic 10 foes George Washington, Davidson, and Richmond.
Men's results (8k)
Led by a third-overall finish by junior
Tarek Benlamkaddem, the Patriots placed fifth out of 16 competing schools.
Benlamkaddem, who has now posted top-five finishes in each of George Mason's three meets this season, crossed the line in 24:45.1. Sophomore
Daniel Hayes came in as the Patriots' second-highest finisher, placing 22
nd overall in 25:42.4.
Senior
Biruk Beardsley (28
th, 25:58.0), freshman
James Millare (30
th, 25:58.3), and junior
Bryson Barnett (37
th, 26:17.4) rounded out George Mason's top-five runners.
"Today did not go as planned for a variety of reasons," said head coach
Andrew Gerard. "We'll reset and rebound and move on in two weeks."
Women's results (6k)
Senior
Sarah Clark paced the Patriots, who finished seventh as a team out of 14 competing schools, with an 18
th-overall finish in 22:30.6. It's Clark's third straight top-18 finish, and she's been one of George Mason's top-three runners in every race to begin the season.
Behind Clark, another trio of Patriots earned top-50 finishes. Freshman Myriam Garrouteigt placed 31
st in 22:52.2, graduate student
Ailbhe Barnes finished 35
th in 22:56.5, and junior Miranda Piñon came in 47
th in 23:09.7.
"
Sarah Clark did a really good job stepping up in front today," said assistant coach
Tony Mihalich. "Our pack is usually tighter, and a lot of the women have been training much better than they raced today, so as a group, we have to reset and compete better. Thankfully, they know we should be much better. But at the individual level, there were a few things that were good, and one of them was
Sarah Clark's performance, especially in the last 2k."
George Mason cross country will return to action in two weeks at the Princeton Fall Classic on October 16 for its final regular-season meet before the Atlantic 10 Championships on October 31.
