Sports
Mason track’s first home meet of the season was a success for individual athletes, although the team lost as a whole. The meet started out a little rough on the field, where Mason did not place for girls or boys in shot-put. Their luck changed with discus where senior Sumner Askin placed first, gaining Mason five points.
When asked about how throwing went, sophomore Fernando Espina said, “Sumner placed first, it felt good. There was a little breeze today which was a challenge, but it felt good.”
Mason track steadily picked up points with the hurdles with senior Lauren Bowling who placed second gaining three points for the girls while junior Preston Custer came in third for the boys gaining one point.
High jump wasn’t Mason’s best event with freshman Jarman Taylor coming in third with one point for the boys. The same held true for the long jump where only boys placed via junior Michael Addo-Ashong placing third, gaining the boys a point. The triple jump was a stronger event for the boys where Addo-Ashong placed second gaining three points and freshman Sasha Dibrov came in third with a point.
Things improved with the 100 meter dash where sophomore Tara Holman came in second with three points for the girls with boys sweeping all nine points. Senior Mitch Sherman came in first, junior Nathan Sese came in second, and Dibrov came in third. This was a solid event for the boys.
The 400 meter relay was one of the strongest events all around for Mason where both girls and boys swept with their A-teams. the girls team, consisting of sophomore Tara Holman, junior Joelle Randrianasolo, junior Margarita Shevchenko, and Bowling, said they were “excited and really nervous” before the relay. “We’ve already qualified for regional’s and are only .4 seconds away from qualifying for states.”
The girl’s made a qualifying time, but because of the type of meet they participated in, the time didn’t count towards qualifying.
As team member Shevchenko put it “if we did it once, we can do it again.”
Mason boys A team was strong as well with the team consisting of Addo-Ashong, Askin, Sherman, and senior Will Nunley.
The girls took four points in the 400 meter dash where junior Darby Quave took second and freshman Julianne Kelly took third. The boys gained a point in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles thanks to Sese. The boys had a another strong performance in the 800 meter run sweeping all nine points thanks to freshman Alec White, Truman and Preston Custer, coming in first, second, and third respectively.
The 200 meter run was another strong event for Mason with the girls taking three points via Randrianasolo. The boys swept again with Nunley, Addo-Ashong, and Sherman taking all nine. With girls only competing in the 3200 meter run, sophomore Kate Atkeson took first, grabbing the girls another five points.
The meet ended on a high note with the 1600 meter relay where both girls and boys took home all five points in their respective races. The girls A-team consisted of Holman, senior Maya King, Randrianasolo, and budding track star freshman Blaze Sevier. The boys A-team consisted of White, Truman and Preston Custer, and Addo-Ashong.
Alec White said with a smile after the meet, “Getting first feels good, my legs hurt a little, but it feels good.”
It was a solid first home meet for Mason track. Their next, and last, home meet is on May 8 at 5 p.m.
George Mason Boys and Girls Track competed this week against Strasburg and William Monroe, as part of the Bull Run District meets, and also against Moorefield and Massanutten Military Academy.
Recently, there has been numerous occurrences of vandalism and theft within George Mason and, specifically, during the spring sports season.
Congratulations are in order for LaBryan "Coach T" Thomas who was named the 2013 All-Met Girls Basketball Coach of the Year by the Washington Post.
Invitational
