FAIRFAX, Va. –– On Friday, the American University track team took part in its final meet of the regular season, crossing the Potomac to once again race at George Mason, this time in the Father Diamond Invitational, as a tune-up ahead of next weekend's Patriot League Championships in Boston.

• The Eagles posted four new top-10 times, including a top-three 60-meter dash time from junior Ciera Thacker. Thacker's PR of 7.82 seconds reaffirms her third all-time spot; her previous time of 7.84 was recorded in February 2025.
• Another sprinter, freshman Gregory Celariste, inked himself in the record books as well with a 7.13 second finish in the men's 60-meter final. Celariste is now seventh all-time in program history.
• Freshman Lilia Jones, a sprinter, continues to shine and her time of 7.80 in the 60-meter final was good enough for a first place finish. As was Zoe Clark's 25.57 second finish in the women's 200m final.
• Kate Riley claimed the top spot in the women's 600m run, with a 1:37.29 finish while sophomore Kara Langbaum set a PR in the event to finish second at 1:39.49.
• On the men's side, Emmett Engelhardt was the top finisher in the men's 800m run, crossing the line at 1:54.99. In the men's 3000m, Jack Chandler won the event at 9:16.63.
• Cooper Michaud, in the men's mile, was one second behind his PR with a first-place, 4:16.80 finish. With Michaud in the mile, sophomores Daniel Messer and Jaden Frederick both hit PRs, finishing second and fifth respectively.
• Two relay teams, the men's and women's 4x400 meter relays, are now both seventh all-time in program history. The women's team comprised of Zoe Clark, Lara Gin, Charlotte Orr, and Riley clocked in at 4:08.32. On the men's side, Celariste, along with Daden Grogan, Ty Parker, and Barak Goldstein finished the relay with a 3:26.72 mark.

See the full results here.

Coach's Corner
"This meet is set up as a tune up competition for us in our final preparations for the Patriot League Championships next week," said head coach Sean Graham. "I'm really happy with how the team came out and competed today on the track. It's been a challenging few weeks managing brutal weather conditions and the sharpness and competitiveness we showed today was great.
 
"The sprints crew performed excellently, with nearly everyone posting season bests. The women going 1-2-3 in the 60m with freshman Lilia Jones taking the win, Ciera Thacker in second improving her indoor 60m time to 7.82 for third all-time, and Chloee Dotts in third in a season best of 8.19. The men taking 2-3 with a season best 7.05 for Jason Omari and PR of 7.13 for freshman Gregory Celariste. Zoe Clark won the 200m in a season best of 25.5 coming into form nicely. 
 
"Our middle distance and distance crew had nice sharpeners in off events going 2-3-4 in the 600m for the men led by freshman Daden Grogan, and 1-2-3 led by Kate Riley for the women with a nice PR from Kara Langbaum in second and Charlotte Orr right next to her in third. In the 800m our young milers, Emmett Engelhardt and Ty Parker, went 1-2 in a shorter event for them. Along with our distance men coming down to the mile going 1-2-3-5 ,led by Cooper Michaud with PRs from Daniel Messer and Jaden Frederick in the event."
 
"With the majority of the work done now, we'll just sharpen up this coming week as we head into the Patriot League Championships up in Boston on Saturday and Sunday next week."
 
Next Up
The Eagles are entering Championship Season next weekend with Patriot League Indoor Championships slated for February 28-March 1 in Boston, Mass. at the BU Track & Tennis Center.
 
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FATHER DIAMOND INVITATIONAL, AU RESULTS

60m Finals, Men	2. Jason Omari-Anim, 7.05 | 3. Gregory Celariste, 7:13 (PR)*
60m Finals, Women	1. Lilia Jones, 7.80 | 2. Ciera Thacker, 7.82 (PR)* | 3. Chloee Dotts, 8.19
200m, Men	2. Jason Omari-Anim, 23.17 | 5. Owen Garrett, 24.91
200m, Women	1. Zoe Clark, 25.57 | 2. Ciera Thacker, 25.80 | 4. Lilia Jones, 26.79 | 5. Chloee Dotts, 26.87
400m, Women	2. Lara Gin, 57.99 | 8. Hannah Puckett, 1:06.69 | 9. Adeline DiPaolo, 1:07.61
500m, Men	2. Owen Garrett, 1:14.11
600m, Men	2. Daden Grogan, 1:20.85 | 3. Barak Goldstein, 1:22.87 | 4. Papakojo Danquah, 1:24.51
600m, Women	1. Kate Riley, 1:37.29 | 2. Kara Langbaum, 1:39.49 (PR) | 3. Charlotte Orr, 1:39.56
800m, Men	1. Emmett Engelhardt, 1:54.99 | 2. Ty Parker, 1:55.14 | 9. Zack Zerbe, 2:01.16
800m, Women	5. Scarlett Lestina, 2:24.97
Mile, Men	1. Cooper Michaud, 4:16.80 | 2. Daniel Messer, 4:17.99 (PR) | 3. Noah Smith, 4:19.82 | 5. Jaden Frederick, 4:20.79 (PR)
3000m, Men	1. Jack Chandler, 9:19.63
3000m, Women	2. Lydia Drago, 10:53.49 | 3. Skyler Tatum, 11:01.89 | 4. Fiona Murphy, 11:10.21 | 5. Hannah Schwab, 11:16.48
4x400m Relay, Men	1. Celariste, Grogan, Parker, Goldstein, 3:26.72* | 2. Engelhardt, Zerbe, Danquah, Garrett, 3:33.84
4x400m Relay, Women	1. Clark, Gin, Orr, Riley, 4:08.32*

 
*Top 10 Record Book Mark
**New School Record