The George Mason University Women\'s Track & Field/Cross Country team is hosting a High School Indoor Track & Field Meet on Saturday, Dec. 9 and four former Olympians will be on hand to assist and hand out trophies. Twenty-five area schools will compete at the George Mason Field House with a girl\'s and boy\'s team crowned champion at the end of the meet. The field events start at 8:30 a.m. and running events start at 9 a.m.
Five middle distance and distance runners highlight the first group of signees that first-year head coach Andrew Gerard has brought in as he attempts to build the George Mason men\'s track and field program into a national contender. Ryan Gaul, Robert Krause, Anthony LaMastro, Michael Pachella and James Phillips have all signed National Letters of Intent to compete for the Patriots next season. All five bring impressive credentials to the table.
George Mason University senior Marc Kellman (Coram, N.Y./Longwood/West Virginia University) placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 16.43 meters (53 ft. 11 in.) at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The mark is a new personal record for Kellman, topping his previous high of 16.21 meters (53 ft. 2
The George Mason men\'s cross country and track and field teams has added an Olympian to the coaching staff as Juli Henner has been named assistant coach for the program. Henner, a 1996 Olympian in the 1500-meters, comes to Mason from Georgetown where she was an assistant coach to the men\'s and women\'s teams for five years.
Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Tom O\'Connor announced that Andrew Gerard has accepted the position of head coach of the men\'s track and field team at George Mason. Gerard leaves Stanford, where he coached for eight years, including head coach of the 2003 National Champion men\'s cross country team.
Seniors Quentin Matthews (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) and Marc Kellman (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) along with sophomore Ryan McCoy (Roanoke, Va./William Fleming) competed for the George Mason men\'s track and field team on the final day of the Texas Relays held Wednesday through Saturday at the University of Texas.
George Mason junior Ashley Ackerley\'s (Burke, Va.) victory in the discus competition highlighted the George Mason women\'s track and field team\'s eighth-place finish out of 10 teams at the Delaware Invitational, held Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, on the campus of the University of Delaware. Ackerley threw the discus 39.78m - just shy of her season high of 40.38 - to take home the individual crown, out performing her nearest competitor by three meters.
The George Mason men\'s 4x100m relay team ran an NCAA East Regional qualifying time of 40.47 Friday afternoon at the 78th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays held on the campus of the University of Texas. The time highlighted a packed day of competition for the Patriots, whose women\'s team was also in attendance at the meet.
George Mason\'s women\'s track and field team traveled across the Potomac Saturday to compete in the Terrapin Invitational track and field meet on the campus of the University of Maryland. However, a severe thunderstorm and heavy rain forced the cancellation of the meet after the completion of just five events.
George Mason University senior Marc Kellman (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) received his first Colonial Athletic Association honor Tuesday, earning CAA Men\'s Field Athlete of the Week in the sport of track and field, the league announced. The award covers all competition from Mar. 21 to Mar. 27. Kellman won the triple jump at the Raleigh Relays last weekend with an NCAA East Region qualifying mark of 15.24 meters. It was the first foray into the triple jump this season for Kellman, who won the CAA championship in the event a year ago.
Senior Marc Kellman (Coram, N.Y./West Virginia) leaped an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 15.24m in winning the triple jump on the final day of the Raleigh Relays, held Saturday at the Paul Derr Track on the campus of N.C. State University. Teammate Mike Garner (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) was also very impressive in his debut in the 200m, placing second overall in an IC4A qualifying time of 21.69. Senior Ricardo Cunningham (Clarendon, Jamaica) finished fourth in the 800m run (1:50.92), qualifying for the IC4A Championships.
Senior Quentin Matthews (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) qualified for the NCAA Regionals in the high jump, while four other events had athletes post qualifying marks for the IC4A Championships as the George Mason men\'s track and field team completed its first outdoor meet of the season. The Patriots finished action Saturday at the Baldy Castillo Invitational, held at Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University.
A trio of George Mason men\'s track and field athletes will be returning to Fairfax, Va. with from the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships with \"All-American\" attached to their name. Senior Marc Kellman, sophomore Ryan McCoy and senior Richard Phillips earned All-American status on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. Kellman was fifth in the triple jump, McCoy was eighth in the triple jump and Phillips was eighth in the 60-meter hurdles.
George Mason University\'s Ricardo Melbourne set a facilities record and he, along with Richard Phillips and Brian Hay, advanced to the finals of the IC4A Championships in the 55-meter hurdles at Boston University. Melbourne won the preliminaries of the event in 7.23 seconds, breaking the two-year old facility record of 7.26 set by Rhode Island\'s Colin Aina. Phillips was second with a time of 7.30 seconds and Hay was eighth in 7.59 seconds.
The George Mason men\'s and women\'s track and field teams hosted the George Mason Collegiate Open Invitational on Saturday and Olympian Richard Phillips had a chance to show his speed without any hurdles in his path. The Olympic semifinalist in the 110-meter hurdles and indoor All-American in the 60-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles got to run the 60-meter dash and he showed the whether he\'s got obstacles in his path or not, he is just plain fast.