Haverford, Pa. – The George Mason men's and women's cross country teams continued their 2026 season on Friday evening at the Main Line Invitational, hosted by Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

Men's results (4 miles)

After a team title at the season-opening Salisbury University Fall Classic on September 5, the Patriots men's team delivered another strong performance in Haverford, finishing as the runners-up (34 points) and just one point behind Stony Brook (35 points).

Graduate student Alex DeRoussel led George Mason and paced the field yet again, delivering his second straight individual title to start the season. His first-place time of 19:35.4 marked a personal best.

Just behind DeRoussel, senior Biruk Beardsley finished second in 19:37.8. The performance marked back-to-back top-five finishes for Beardsley, who began his season by placing fourth at Salisbury.

Rounding out George Mason's top five finishers, junior Tarek Benlamkaddem placed fifth overall in 19:43.9, while sophomore Daniel Hayes (19:59.5) and freshman Kolbin Heberlig (19:59.8) placed 13^th and 14^th, respectively.

"Good day overall," said head coach Andrew Gerard. "The top three for the men are learning each other's racing style and are developing nicely at the front. The next pack is, literally, three freshmen, so they are learning, and every experience just compounds their race experience, but they are adapting and competing well. Overall, a good day and lots to learn and take away from today."

Women's results (5k)

Against a strong field that included Villanova, Penn, and Stony Brook, the George Mason women's team finished fifth at Haverford. Of the 13 competing schools, the Patriots were one of just four teams with multiple top-12 finishers.

For the second straight time to begin her George Mason career, graduate student Ailbhe Barnes was the Patriots' top finisher.  The University of Birmingham transfer posted a time of 17:59.7, good for seventh overall.

Behind Barnes, senior Sarah Clark placed 12^th in 18:10.4, marking a new personal best. Freshman Miryam Garrouteigt (18:40.4), junior Miranda Pinon (18:44.9), and Bridget Snider (19:03.4) rounded out the Patriots' scoring runners.

"There were things that went really well, which is always good, but it wasn't perfect," said assistant coach Tony Mihalich. "I didn't think it would be. But the reason I'm cool with our result is because the things that didn't exactly go super well are things we can fix, and after the race it really seemed like the squad is ready to embrace that for the next few weeks of training."

George Mason men's and women's cross country will look to keep their momentum going in two weeks at the Richmond Invitational in Mechanicsville, Virginia, on October 2.