FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason track & field teams capped a successful 2026 indoor season with four Patriots recognized by the Atlantic 10 Conference as members of the All-Rookie and All-Academic Teams.
The All-Rookie Team is comprised of the top rookie performer in each event from meets conducted during the indoor regular season through the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championships. Freshman Kymara Fernandez was named to the All-Rookie Team following her standout performance in the triple jump. Fernandez ranks seventh overall in the A-10 indoor season event rankings with her collegiate-best mark of 11.94m, set at the 2026 Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. She earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors for the week of February 17 following that performance.
To be eligible for nomination to the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore both academically and eligibility-wise and hold a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. From the submitted pool of nominees, team members are selected based on a combination of academic excellence and athletic performance during the 2026 indoor track & field season.
In her second year with the Patriots, graduate student Kennedy Drish, who is pursuing a master's degree in forensic science, has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. At the A-10 Indoor Championships, Drish claimed gold in the women's pole vault and set a meet record with her winning mark of 4.20m. During the season, she also broke the indoor school record in the event, clearing 4.34m at the Virginia Tech Challenge. Drish earned A-10 Field Performer of the Week honors three times this season, highlighting her consistency and dominance.
Also in her second year with George Mason, graduate student Ella Semple is pursuing a master's degree in management along with a graduate certificate in business analytics at the Costello College of Business, while maintaining a 3.78 GPA. At the A-10 Indoor Championships, Semple won two individual titles in the 3000m and 5000m, setting a meet record in the 5000m with a time of 16:12.74. This season, she entered the program's all-time top-10 list in four different events: the mile, 1000m, 3000m, and 5000m. She opened her campaign by breaking the indoor school record in the women's 5000m run at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener with a time of 16:04.84.
Having joined the Patriots this past season, graduate transfer Jayden Smith is pursuing a graduate certificate in Environmental GIS (Geoinformation Science) and Biodiversity Conservation while maintaining a 3.56 GPA. At the A-10 Indoor Championships, Smith claimed gold in the 60m hurdles, tying the meet record he previously set with a time of 7.77. That mark stands as his season best and ranks third in the program's all-time indoor top-10 list for the event.
The Patriots return to action this weekend as they begin the outdoor track & field season at the Bob Davidson Team Challenge, hosted by High Point in High Point, N.C. The two-day meet runs from Friday, March 20, to Saturday, March 21.
