Last Wednesday, looking to continue an already impressive season, the George Mason High School track and field team took on district rival Clarke County High in a dual meet.
With star runner Susanna Sullivan sidelined, the girls team pulled through to defeat the host Eagles 74-59, while their male counterparts fell short of victory, 86-52. Leading the way for the lady Mustangs were junior Karina Robarge and sophomore Melissa Benn, while senior Derek Devore and junior Josh Jenkins led the Mason boys with points in multiple events.
Robarge took first in the 110m hurdlers with a time of 16.84, beating second place runner, and fellow classmate, Amelia Nystrom, by .5 seconds. Robarge also won the 300m hurdles over Nystrom, before running the first leg for the girls 4×400 relay team. The team of Robarage, Nystrom, senior Elizabeth Fortenberry and freshman Chantel Bailey turned in their most impressive performance on the year, blowing away the competition with a time of 4:33:24.
Benn placed first in both the shot put and the discus to place herself as the other multiple-point winner on the day for Mason. Other first place finishes for Mason included junior Sushmita Gordhandas in the high jump, Bailey in the 400 and senior Emma Goetz in the 3200.
For the boys team, Devore and Jenkins led the Mustang squad with points in two events apiece, but it was not enough to overcome the tough Eagle squad. Devore took first in the 110m hurdles with a time of 16:09, nearly beating fellow Mustang, junior Yusof Becker. In addition, Devore won the long jump, as well as finishing second in the 300m hurdles, with a time of 42.97.
Jenkins placed first in the 100m dash, posting an impressive time of 11:04, as well as winning the 400m (51:06). Sophomore Reid Mene and freshman Sam Parker placed second and third, respectively, in the 1600m run, while senior Ed Hickey took home a first place finish in the discus.
Yesterday, April 25, the Mustangs took the two and a half hour jaunt down to Madison County to battle the Mountaineers in another district showdown. Results were not available at press time. The next home meet for Mason will be May 2 against Manassas Park at 5 p.m.
