Last Saturday, braving the harsh wind, cold and rain, the George Mason High School varsity track team participated in the Scudieri Invite at West Potomac High School. Although they were short-handed due to a meet earlier in the week, the Mustangs finished with impressive times in the difficult weather.

As he has done all season, junior Josh Jenkins placed himself as one of the top runners in the area, leading the boys team in points by placing first in the 400m dash with a time of 50.23. Senior Derek Devore took fifth in the 300m hurdles (43.46) and eighth in the 110m hurdles (16.97), while senior Ed Hickey took eighth in the discus (112-03).

On the girls’ end, freshman Chantel Bailey led the girls team on Saturday with a ninth place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 1:04.48. Bailey nearly missed out on posting a regional qualifying time, falling short by a mere .04 seconds.

Earlier that week on Thursday, Mason sent half of its squad to compete against Luray High School and fellow Bull Run District member Rappahannock. The boys team placed second overall behind Luray. Leading the boys in points was senior Ramsey Hanna who placed second in the 200m and 3rd in the 400m. Senior Ed Hickey placed second in the discus and was also a member of the second place 4×100 team, along with Austin Lucas, Matt Geurtsen and Bryan Lockwood.

The girls team followed suit, also placing second overall. Leading the girls in points were juniors Naté Smartt who won the 400 and placed second in the 100, and Meredyth Duncan, who placed second in the long and triple jump and third in the 400. Freshman Adeyianka Bowman placed first in the high jump and third in the long jump, while sophomore Melissa Benn placed second in the shot put and discus.

The Mustangs hosted a district battle with Clarke County High School yesterday, but results were not available at press time. Next Wednesday, Mason will go to Madison County High School to face the Mountaineers at 5 p.m.