On Saturday the varsity track teams at George Mason High School participated in their second invitational meet of the season, competing against much larger AAA and AA schools at the Freedom Invitational in Woodbridge, Va.

The challenging meet was just another instance of how Mason coach Bianca White has front-loaded the Mustangs’ schedule, helping her squad improve as they face-off against the top runners in the Northern Virginia area.

On the girls’ side, Mason was led by sophomore Chantal Thomas, who finished in a four-way tie for first in the high jump and also took sixth out of a field of 20 in the 100m hurdles. In the same event, fellow Mustang Karina Robarge, a senior, finished third in a time of 16.63. Thomas and Robarge took third and fourth, respectively, in the 300m hurdles, finishing .35 seconds apart from each other.

Junior Melissa Benn continued her improvement in the field events, as well, finishing 14th and 10th in the shot put and discus, respectively. Sophomore Chantel Bailey took seventh in the 100m dash and fourth in the 400m dash to round out the impressive meet for the ladies.

Senior Susanna Sullivan, a Notre Dame signee, has sat out the past couple of weeks with a knee injury, but is on pace to return come district time.

For the boys, senior Will Douthitt finished 11th in the 3200m run, while Chas Bowling took 13th in the 110m hurdles and 12th in the 300m hurdles. With the absence of senior Josh Jenkins due to injury, the Mustangs have struggled to put up points. However, the emergence of senior Matt Geurtsen (18th in the shot put and discus) should aid in district play.

On May 3, the Mustangs will participate in the Caroline High School Invitational, before traveling to Rappahannock on May 7 for a Bull Run showdown with the Panthers.