Virginia Wins Men's and Women's Races at Mason Invitational :: Hackett and Fickel lead Patriots in respective races

Oct. 4, 2008

FAIRFAX, Va. - The University of Virginia will return to Charlottesville with two victories today as their men's and women's teams each won races at the Mason Invitational. The meet, hosted by George Mason, took place at Bull Run Park in Centreville, Va. Mason will host the CAA Championship at the same course on Nov. 1.

Emil Heineking from Virginia won the men's race in 24:40. The Cavaliers took six of the top eight spots in the race, finishing with a team score of 19. Columbia finished in second with 50 points and Maryland came in third, earning 85 points. Mason finished fourth overall with 121 points. Rounding out the top-five was UNC-Greensboro with 178 points.

Freshman Everett Hackett was the first Patriot to cross the finish line with a time of 25:36, good for the 19th spot overall. Scott Tekesky and James Snyder followed close behind, finishing 26th and 28th, respectively. Also finishing in the top-40 for Mason were Matt Bailey (32), Chris Palmer (38) and Robert Krause (40).

On the women's side, Virginia, in similar fashion to the men, took the top spot over second-place Columbia and third-place Maryland. Mason's CAA rivals Northeastern and UNC-Wilmington finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Mason finished 14th in the team standings.

Sophomore Samantha Fickel was the first Patriot across the line, finishing in 60th place with a time of 24:27. Karlyn Lockie finished second for Mason with a time of 24:58. Elizabeth Smith crossed the finish line third for Mason in a time of 25:42. Just a few seconds later, Monique McKenzie finished the 6k race for the Patriots. Kailyn Lockie completed Mason's top-five about a minute later in a time of 26:48.

The George Mason men's cross country team will have one more meet before hosting the CAA Championship, when they travel to University Park, Pa. to compete in The Penn State National on Oct. 17. The women will also have one more meet before the CAA Championship on Nov. 1 as they will compete in the Blue Hen Classic in Newark, Del. on Oct. 18.