WASHINGTON - The American University track team took some big steps forward this weekend at the Patriot Games, hosted by George Mason on Friday and Saturday, January 24-25.

#AUTF NOTES

• Eight Eagles walked away with new personal records (PRs) on the weekend. 
• Among the highlights was freshman Nia Holden, who added her name to her third all-time top ten list in as many meets with her second-place finish in the 800m. She crossed with the fifth fastest time in program history, 2:18.67, after already adding her name to the record books for the 400m and 500m dashes.
• The day's top finisher on the men's side also came out of the 800m run, as freshman Jackson McCarthy was second in the field in 1:57.21.
• Freshmen Tucker Zullo and Nate Reeves both hit new PR's in the men's mile. Zullo was fifth across the line in 4:16.73 while Reeves was 11th (4:29.58).
• A pair of freshmen also earned new PR's in the women's mile, starting with Sarah Maple leading in eighth overall (5:14.89), followed by Ana Keene in 15th.
• Freshman Russell Sullivan was one of 13 finishers in the men's 5000m to run under the previous facility record. He crossed in 14:56.01 for sixth in the field, followed by junior Max Lustig who just missed his PR with a 15:25.74 finish.

HEAR FROM COACH GRAHAM...
"We took a big step forward this weekend at George Mason. The team is responding great to the work we're putting in and are beginning to reap the benefits in the races. We had a number of standout performances this weekend on both the men's and women's sides. Russell Sullivan had a great debut in the 5k, breaking 15 minutes for the first time in his first attempt. Tucker Zullo had a well-executed PR at 4:16 in the mile, and Jackson McCarthy raced to a tactical second-place finish in the men's 800m. 

"On the women's side, Emily Neunertook another good step forward with another PR in the 5k. Sarah Maple ran a similar race to Tucker in the mile for a big indoor PR. Nia Holden also ran a very tactical 800 for an indoor PR and heat win. Elise Hooker again came through with a very gutsy 1000m race, coming through 800 in her PR and closing well off that. We are now looking at two weeks of training before attacking again down at VMI in February."

#AUTF RESULTS
 

EVENT	RESULTS
60m Dash, Men	20. Mark Kopp, 7.46 PR | 32. Yoshimune Satake, 8.08
200m Dash, Men	24. Mark Kopp, 24.59 | 32. Tyler White, 25.45
400m Dash, Men	19. Xavier Ibrahim, 57.19 PR | 22. Tyler White, 59.66
500m Dash, Men	11. Christian Kahn, 1:09.11 SB
500m Dash, Women	16. Hannah Farley, 1:32.46
800m Run, Men	2. Jackson McCarthy, 1:57.21
800m Run, Women	2. Nia Holden, 2:18.67 #5 | 30. Eva Gibson, 2:37.42 PR
1000m Run, Women	16. Elise Hooker, 3:04.21 | 22. Amanda Muniz, 3:13.21
Mile Run, Men	5. Tucker Zullo, 4:16.73 PR | 11. Nate Reeves, 4:29.58 PR | 15. John Pagliaro, 4:32.33 SB
Mile Run, Women	8. Sarah Maple, 5:14.89 PR | 10. Arianna Lopez, 5:23.03 | 15. Ana Keene, 5:34.20 PR
3000m Run, Men	15. Thomas Scartz, 9:02.24
3000m Run, Women	13. Rachael Potter, 10:58.76 PR
5000m Run, Men	6. Russell Sullivan, 14:56.01 | 20. Max Lustig, 15:25.74
5000m Run, Women	15. Emily Neuner, 18:37.97

NEXT UP...
American will visit Penn State next weekend for the National Open, set for Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, February 1. 

For the latest on American University Track, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_TrackXC) and Instagram (@autrackxc).