The George Mason High School boys and girls track teams competed in their largest track meet of the season last Saturday, attending the 32nd annual T.C. Williams Track and Field Invitational. There they competed in a field of 24 schools, the majority of which were from the larger Group 6A. Still several Group 2A Mason athletes posted top finishes and set new personal records as they continued to qualify and prepare for post-season competition.
For the girls, Tara Holman qualified for the finals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. In the finals for the 100, she placed third with a time of 12.72, having run it in 12.62 in the qualifying heat. For the 200, she placed seventh with a time of 26.52. Holman is the 2A state leader in the 100, and has qualified for the state meet in both the 100 and 200.
For the boys, Truman Custer placed first in the 800-meter run in 1:58.94, trimming about a second off of his season’s best time and coming in nearly three seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Custer is the 2A state leader in the 800, and has qualified in that event for the state meet.
Korinne Wills moved on from the qualifying heats to the finals in the girls 100-meter hurdles and placed seventh with a time of 18.17, running her best time of the season by two-tenths of a second. She previously qualified for the state meet in the 300-meter hurdles.
For the girls, Blaise Sevier placed second in the 3,200-meter run (12:17.64) and Isabelle Kessler placed third in the 800-meter run (2:32.40), events for which they are state qualifiers.
Other Mason athletes who have qualified for the state meet are Vicky Addo-Ashong in the girls 100-meter dash, who last Saturday dropped her time in the event by more than three-tenths of a second to 13.15; Mia Sawyer in the girls 300-meter hurdles, who completed the event in 51.87 last Saturday; and Alec White in the boys 400-meter dash, who placed ninth overall in 52.91 last Saturday, improving his time from the last meet by more than a second.
Elizabeth Ward and Kaitlin Kutchma placed fourth in the girls 800-meter run (2:32.40) and 3,200-meter run (12:29.11), respectively. Both have qualified for the regional meet, along with Michael Addo-Ashong in the boys 300-meter hurdles, who last Saturday improved his time in the event by three-tenths of a second to place 11th (43.68); Preston Custer in the boys 800-meter run, who posted his qualifying time of 2:07.63 at the meet; and Alex Hairston in the girls 100-meter dash.
R.J. Martinez and Preston Custer tied for sixth place in the high jump (5-04). Both have qualified for the conference meet in the event. Additional conference-meet qualifiers are Eugenia Smith, Sabrina Reibeling, Megan Jenkins, and Molly McGhee in the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes; Coral Gillette in the girls 1,600- and 800-meter runs; Darby Quave in the girls 200-meter dash; Korrine Wills in the girls 110-meter hurdles; Sabine Wills in the girls 300-meter hurdles; Grace Eye in the girls 3,200-meter run; Sarah Macris in the girls 800-meter run; Michael Addo-Ashong in the boys 100-meter dash; Nathan Sese in the boys 200-meter dash; Zach Welch in the boys 300-meter hurdles; Jacob Plata in the boys 400-meter run; and John Marshall and Huntley Campbell in the boys 800-meter run.
The Mustangs compete against Madison County and Rappahannock County high schools Wednesday at Madison County High School. Next Thursday, Mason will host an inner-squad competition after Senior Night recognition.
