FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women’s team and the Rhode Island men’s team are leading the 2024 Outdoor Track & Field Championships after the first day. The men’s and women’s championships are being contested at George Mason Stadium, and inclement weather forced some events to be moved inside to the George Mason Fieldhouse.

Mason leads the women’s teams with 37.5 points, followed by Richmond with 32 points and VCU with 26 points. Davidson (25.5 points), Dayton (24 points) and Saint Louis (24 points) round out the top five.

The Rhode Island men’s team tallied 70 points on the first day, with Mason just behind at 68 points. Massachusetts is in third with 35 points, followed by Davidson (24) and Loyola Chicago (14).

There was one record broken on Saturday, as VCU’s Gudrun Hallgrimsdottir shattered the women’s hammer throw facility and meet records. She set a new mark of 67.47 meters, surpassing the A-10 championship mark of 61.89 meters set by Rhode Island’s Jasmine Jennings in 2009 and the facility record of 65.32, set by Florida’s Candice Scott in 1999.

Mason had medal performances from Amber Askelson in the pole vault (3.80 meters – bronze) and Jordynn Toliver in the javelin (40.39 meters – silver).
UMass’ Megan Frazee cleared 4.0 meters in the pole vault for first place, and Dayton’s Casey Bogues finished first in the javelin with a 46.98 meter throw. Richmond’s Molly Wise won gold in the long jump, clearing 6.12 meters. In the two track finals, La Salle’s Gwenno Goode took gold in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:19.48 and Davidson’s Frances Whitworth clocked in at 35:19.90 to place first in the 10,000 meters.

Rhody holds on to first thanks to medal performances from Alexander Baez (60.61 meters – silver) in the men’s hammer throw and gold and bronze medals in the long jump. Derek Chalmers won with a leap of 7.23 meters and Israel Henriques-Setho was third with a 7.23 meter long jump. Mason Brubaker took bronze in the pole vault with a 4.85 meters vault. Lucas Frost won gold for the Rams with a 64.40 meter javelin throw.

Grahm Breiter of Davidson won the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase with a 9:01.36, and Loyola Chicago’s Chris Devaney ran 29:44.11 to win the 10,000 meters in the track finals. George Mason’s Arsalan Yaqubi won the hammer throw with a 61.40 meters, and his teammate Walter Bannerman cleared 5.20 meters in the pole vault.

The Outdoor Track & Field Championships conclude Sunday, beginning at 9:00 am with the conclusion of the multi events. The final event of the championship are the relayes, which begin at 2:10 pm.