PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - After a trio of event wins on day one, the George Mason track and field teams capped their weekend at the Penn Classic with a host of top finishes and personal records, underscoring the Patriots' continued growth as the indoor season progresses.
The Patriots delivered several standout efforts on the meet's final day, highlighted by five top-five finishes across multiple events. Helena Santacana led the way with a runner-up finish in the women's 400m open section, clocking a time of 57.59. In the women's mile open section, Sarah Clark recorded the third-fastest time with an indoor personal best of 5:07.71, while Ella Semple placed fourth in the women's mile invitational, setting a personal-record 4:42.93. Semple's mark moved her to second on George Mason's indoor all-time list and into second place in the Atlantic 10 season rankings.
On the men's side, Caleb Hymans finished third in the 800m open section with a time of 1:52.79, placing him fourth in the Atlantic 10 this season. Mason Samuels followed with a fifth-place finish in the men's 200m, posting an indoor-best 21.45 that ranks eighth on the program's indoor all-time list and second in the conference this year. The men's 4x400m relay team of Joziah Johnson, Lance Koontz, Aidan Walcott, and Jordan Tuck recorded the fifth-fastest time at the meet, running a season-best 3:16.32 to rank fourth in the Atlantic 10.
Several freshmen continued to make strides, highlighting the team's steady development throughout the season. In the 3000m open sections, Tarek Benlamkaddem (8:34.96) and Hazel Wells (10:43.77) both improved upon their marks from the Wesley A. Brown Invitational last month. Fellow rookies Messiah McKinley (1:54.13), Jonathan Regules (1:56.68), and Shanell Berry (2:25.06) each posted season-best times in their respective 800m open sections. Sydney Rhodes added her strongest performance of the indoor season in the women's 200m, finishing in 25.26, while Jayden Apenteng made his Patriots debut in the men's 500m, clocking a time of 1:06.12.
Additional notable performances included Lloyd Sheppard-Brown, who set a personal best of 8:16.24 in the men's 3000m invitational, moving him into seventh on the program's indoor all-time list. In the men's and women's 500m, Lance Koontz (1:06.07), Jordan Tuck (1:06.18), and Aiko Galvin (1:22.01) each recorded personal records, while Miranda Pinon set a personal best of 3:14.71 in the women's 1000m.
Head coach Andrew Gerard was pleased with the team's progress as the postseason approaches.
"Very productive weekend," Gerard said. "With the A-10s three weeks away, we continue to check the boxes and assemble the pieces. Yesterday and today, we got a number of major items ticked off our 'to-do' list. We still have some things to work on, but the staff and I were pleased with what got accomplished overall."
George Mason will compete in its final away meets next weekend before the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships. The Patriots will travel to Lynchburg, Va., for the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, scheduled for Friday, February 13, through Saturday, February 14. Biruk Beardsley will also compete at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University, contesting the 5000m on Friday, February 13.
