The George Mason track and field teams earned three gold medals and one bronze on May 2 during the first day of the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, held at their home facility in Fairfax, Virginia. Several athletes achieved personal bests as the Patriots collected points toward their team standings.
The meet began with Kennedy Drish winning gold in the women’s pole vault by clearing 3.88 meters, setting a new school record for George Mason. Drish had previously won the indoor title earlier in the year. Walt Bannerman secured another gold medal for the Patriots by winning his fourth career Atlantic 10 championship in men’s pole vault with a clearance of 5.20 meters.
On the track, Alex DeRoussel earned his first conference medal with a third-place finish in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, clocking a time of 9:00.15 after finishing fifth last year. In one of the day’s most dramatic moments, Lloyd Sheppard-Brown surged from fifth place on the final lap to win gold in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 32:00.39.
Freshman Kellen La Roche recorded a personal-best jump of 7.40 meters to move from sixth to fourth place in men’s long jump finals, while Biruk Beardsley finished fifth in men’s 10,000 meters after advancing from seventh position late in his race.
Several Patriots advanced through preliminary rounds into event finals scheduled for Sunday, including Joziah Johnson (men’s 400m hurdles), Davian Burke (men’s and women’s hurdles), Kaela-Michelle O’Connor (women’s hurdles), Helena Santacana (women’s hurdles), Daniel Hayes (men’s middle distance), Simone Hamlar (women’s sprints), Jordan Tuck and Aidan Walcott (men’s sprints), Jordan Edwards (men’s sprints), Mason Morales and Jayden Apenteng (hurdles).
After Day One competition concluded, George Mason’s men’s team stood second overall with 39 points behind Rhode Island’s leading score of 82 points; Davidson was third with 24 points. The women’s team was ranked fifth out of competing schools with Rhode Island holding first place among women’s teams.
The Atlantic-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships will conclude on Sunday, May 3 starting at nine o’clock in the morning; live results will be posted online throughout Day Two events.
