The George Mason High School girls track team finished first and the boys second in a three-way meet at Madison County High School with Rappahannock County High School last Wednesday.
Athletes continued to hit personal records, and were looking strong as they headed into the post-season beginning with the District meet at Strasburg High School on Wednesday.
A striking highlight, the Mason girls and boys swept the 800-meter run, taking the top five places in each race for all the points. For the girls team, Blaise Sevier was in first (2:27) followed by Sarah Macris (second in 2:35), Elizabeth Ward (third in 2:36), Coral Gillette (fourth in 2:41), and Anna Sawyer (fifth in 2:41). Not looking to be outdone, the large group of boys took off at a sprint and Mason ended up taking first through fifth place as well. Truman Custer was first in 2:02, followed by Preston Custer (second in 2:11), James Schneider (third in 2:11), John Marshall (fourth in 2:12) and Huntley Campbell (fifth in 2:14).
There were many other top finishes during the afternoon. For the girls, Korinne Wills placed second in the 100-meter hurdles. Tara Holman, Vicky Marie Addo-Ashong, and Eugenia Smith were first, second, and fourth, respectively, in the 100-meter dash. Sevier, Elizabeth Ward, and Maria Turne came in 1-2-3 in the 1,600-meter run. In the 400-meter dash, Holman was first and Julianne Kelly was third. Mustang girls were first and second in the 300-meter hurdles, with Mia Sawyer coming in fractions of a second ahead of teammate Wills. The depth of the sprinters was clear again in the 200-meter dash with Holman first, Smith second, and Sabrina Reibeling fourth. In the 4×400, the Mason A team was ahead of the Mason B team, as they finished 1-2. Korinne Wills placed third in high jump, Amy Fritsch had a PR in the triple jump and finished fourth (29-01), Christina Buclatin placed third in shot (23-11.75), and Ziggy Thetard PR’ed in discus placing third (67-07).
Highlights for the boys included a meet-opening first-place finish in the 4×800 relay (Julian Grippo, Austin Yoder, Caelin Campbell, and James Pala). Preston Custer followed with a first-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. Austin Gogal and Nathan Sese were 1-2 in the 100-meter dash. Then in the 1,600-meter run, it was Truman Custer and Marshall finishing 1-2. The 400-meter dash saw Jacob Plata and Nathan Ward take second and third place, and it was a 2-3 result in the 300-meter hurdles as well for Zach Welch and Ian Hokaj. Preston Custer had a PR as he reached 5-08 in the high jump; RJ Martinez was third (5-04) and Thomas Rochman was fourth (5-02). Nathan Ward was second in long jump. In discus, Gogal placed fourth (86.00), with Andrew Connelly close behind (84-08), and Will Earman had a PR at 66-10.
The girls placed first with 72 points; Madison County had 58 and Rappahannock County had 19. The boys were edged out by Madison County, 75.5 to 67, with Rappahannock County in third place with 11.5 points.
The Mustangs will be on their own track on Thursday for the rescheduled senior night recognition (5:45 p.m.) and an inter-squad meet from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m., the only chance to see the Mustangs at home this season.
