George Mason University

GMU debuts in Atlantic 10 with women’s individual win, strong showing by men

Published November 3, 2013 at 10:46PM | Updated April 11, 2018 at 3:50PM

George Mason's Bethany Sachtleben pulls away from Richmond's Jill Prentice on her way to winning the Atlantic 10 cross country individual title. Photo: Charlie Ban

The starting line was crowded when George Mason showed up for the cross country conference meet this fall, especially for the men.

Instead of facing off against four other teams, the scene at the last Colonial Athletic Association meet, the Patriots were one of 13 teams in the Atlantic 10. The women had previously competed in a pool of eight teams. In their first year in the A-10, the Mason men finished third and the women eighth, with Bethany Sachtleben winning the overall women’s title. Longtime conference member George Washington finished 11th in the men’s race and didn’t score in the women’s race after a runner dropped out with an injury.

To run or not to run?

By Jacqueline Feldscher

Published August 12, 2013 at 2:09PM | Updated June 25, 2018 at 4:52PM

While she was worried about increased weekly mileage, fitting into a new team, and balancing running with schoolwork her first time away from home, Maddie Wittich‘s decision to run in college was ultimately easy.

“I can tell from the way I feel during my runs that I have so much left in me and I feel like I need to keep going,” said Wittich, who is entering her freshman year at the University of Richmond. “I still want to improve so much and get new PRs and I know that college will offer that to me.”

Let Freedom Run 5K Recap

By Dickson Mercer

Published July 4, 2012 at 4:02PM | Updated September 12, 2013 at 5:14PM

By Dickson Mercer

If Bethany Sachtleben tries out for cross country at George Mason University this fall, she will lack the high school running experiences other rising freshman will surely have. On the other hand, Sachtleben, 20, who won this morning’s second annual Let Freedom Run 5K in Fairfax, VA in 18:26, has already run a marathon, which is uncommon for a runner her age.