2 first-place finishers highlight productive day for track and field at George Mason

Ryan Grube, Contributing Writer

Track and Field took home some hardware over the weekend with two first-place victories at the George Mason Spring Invitational April 13 in Fairfax.

Women’s

Redshirt-junior thrower Samantha Yankson kicked off the meet with an opening-event win for VCU in the hammer throw. Yankson hurled a toss of 50.13 meters to become the first Ram on the podium for the day.

The Black and Gold secured their second first-place finish when junior distance runner Delaney Savedge crossed the finish line with a winning time of 17:47.18 in the 5000-meter.

The 100-meter hurdles saw Khoi Banks narrowly place second. The junior sprinter finished with a time of 14.14.

Sophomore jumper Aliyah Newman tied for second in the long jump following her 5.66-meter leap.

Junior distance runner Judith Marley White added another second-place finish for the Rams, ending the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:26.05.

Senior sprinter Taylor Watkins contributed to the podium in the 200-meter dash, finishing with a time of 24.78.

Senior thrower Denise O’Rourke also finished third for VCU, this time in the discus throw, recording a 43.32-meter toss.

Men’s

Much like the Women’s side, the Men’s team was quick to get on the podium Saturday.

Sophomore high jumper Xyan Xrichardson got the Rams on the board, vaulting 1.99 meters to secure third place in the high jump.

Junior hurdler Ian Davis finished second in the 400-meter with a time of 53.89, falling just .03 seconds short of a first place win.

VCU’s 4-x-400 team — freshman sprinter Emmanuel Waller, junior mid-distance runner Matthew Pittman, sophomore multi-event runner Jonathan Panda-Mukeni and senior sprinter Justin West — placed third with a time of 3:23.87.

Track and Field will travel to Charlottesville for the Virginia Challenge April 19-20.