May 6, 2006

Complete Results

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason's men's and women's track and field teams had a stellar afternoon in front of a home crowd at George Mason Stadium on Saturday in the final meet of the outdoor track and field season prior to championship competition. Both the men's and women's teams finished first in four events on the day.

The men's team finished first in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, while the women's team placed first in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump.

Senior Sammy Sesay ran his two fastest times of the season in the 100-meter dash, finishing first in his preliminary heat with a time of 10.61 seconds, and topping that mark when he finished first in the finals with a time of 10.57 seconds, beating Campbell's Greg Dunston, who was second with a time of 10.77 seconds. Sesay will compete at the IC4A Championships in the event next weekend.

Senior Richard Phillips finished first in two events on the day, the 200-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles. Phillips tied his fastest time of the season in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 21.47 seconds. He also finished in 21.47 seconds at the CAA Championships on April 22. In the 110-meter hurdles, Phillips finished in 13.75 seconds, beating teammate Brian Hay, who crossed the finish line in 14.49 seconds. Phillips will compete at the IC4A Championships in both events and has qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championships in the 110-meter hurdles. Hay will join Phillips at the IC4A Championships in the 110-meter hurdles.

Rounding out the first-place finishers for the men was senior Michael Akindele, who finished first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.97 seconds.

On the women's side, freshman Murielle Ahoure lowered her already impressive times in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash even further, winning both events. In the 100-meter dash, Ahoure posted the best time of her young career, crossing the finish line in 11.52 seconds, beating the second-place finisher, Dianne Monroe of Essex County by .34 of a second. Her previous best in the 100-meter dash came at the Hurricane Invitational on March 18 when she ran a time of 11.55 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, Ahoure set another personal record, finishing first with a time of 23.57 seconds. Her next closest competitor again was Munroe, who was nearly a full second off Ahoure's pace with a time of 24.37 seconds. Ahoure's previous best in the 200-meter dash was 23.92 seconds at the CAA Championships on April 22. She has qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championships in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.

Freshman Ryann Hendricks finished first in both the long jump and the triple jump, posting personal records for the outdoor season in both events. Hendricks leaped 5.66 meters to win the long jump, outdistancing James Madison's Leslie Anderson, who posted a mark of 5.54 meters to finish second. In the triple jump, Hendricks won the event by the slimmest of margins, jumping 12.14 meters, just .01 meters better than the second-place finisher, Adrienne Mayo of JMU. Hendricks will compete at the ECAC Championships next weekend in the triple jump.

Two seniors hit ECAC qualifying standards at the meet. Ashley Ackerley finished third in the discus throw behind two throwers from the University of Maryland, Jillian Anwah and Aysha Gregory. Ackerley's throw of 43.50 meters is a new personal record, topping her previous high of 43.21 meters. Sheena Davidson finished fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.14 seconds.

The men's team will compete in the IC4A Championships on May 12-14 in Princeton, N.J., while the women's team will compete at the ECAC Championships, held on the same dates in Princeton, N.J.

The men's team has qualified seven athletes in seven events for the IC4A Championships. Senior Sammy Sesay qualified in the 100-meter dash, senior Richard Phillips qualified in the 200-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles, sophomore Brian Hay qualified in the 110-meter hurdles, freshman Steven Knight qualified in the 110-meter hurdles, senior Quentin Matthews qualified in the high jump, senior Marc Kellman qualified in the long jump and triple jump and junior Ryan McCoy qualified in the triple jump. The men's team has also qualified for the championships in the 4x100-meter relay.

The women's team has qualified five athletes in eight events for the ECAC Championships. Freshman Murielle Ahoure qualified in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, senior Sheena Davidson qualified in the 400-meter dash, freshman Brittanie Williams qualified in the 100-meter hurdles and triple jump, freshman Ryann Hendricks qualified in the triple jump and senior Ashley Ackerley qualified in the discus throw. The women's team has also qualified for the championships in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay.