With an amazing turnout, the Mason boys and girls track team faced off in a tri-meet against Strasburg and William Monroe High School last Wednesday, April 18.

The Mason track team won the meet with many runners and throwers achieving new personal records. Since it was the only home meet of the year, it was also senior night. The track team honored their senior athletes, and what better way to be honored than by winning the meet.

If you missed this one and want to go support your Mason track members, the track team will be facing off against Manassas Park High School Wednesday, April 25.

“This season has been record breaking for us. We learned how to work harder as a team and push each other to do better. This has really reflected in our games.  For the first time in Mason history we beat Strasburg!” said junior first basemen Nicole Iraheta.

Not only did the Lady Mustangs beat them Tuesday, April 17, they shut them out 3-0. The team, led by senior pitcher Krista Kelly, is making huge strides this season and has a chance of doing very well in the district.

Last year, the softball team made George Mason history by competing for the first time ever in the regional tournament. Although the team was knocked out in the first round, this year the Lady Mustangs hope to advance even further.

Just five years ago, the Lady Mustangs were losing every game. In the spring of 2007, the  record was 2-16. The team was crushed every game, losing to teams like Strasburg, 1-22. Last year, the record improved to 8-11, including district and regional games, a drastic improvement from just a few years before.

In their most recent game, the Mustangs played Clarke County, currently ranked as number one in the district. The Lady Mustangs played a great game against them, holding them 2-0 into the fourth inning, but the Eagles came back and beat the Mustangs 9-2.

Even though the Mustangs weren’t able to pull through against Clarke, holding them to the fourth inning is pretty impressive considering the Eagles have shut out many teams in the district.

“Our hard work is really showing off. We beat Strasburg and we’ve been competing against teams like Clarke, so I think we’re close to beating teams like Madison and William Monroe,” said junior second basemen Johanna Roche.

This Mason team is steadily improving and has a bright season ahead of them. Their next game will be Tuesday, April 24, at Central Woodstock High School.

“We are a young team, and this showed that we can beat anybody,” senior midfielder Eion Oosterbaan said after his team beat arch-rival Clarke County by one on Friday.

Coming into the game, the Mustangs knew that they faced a challenge. Clarke is one of the top teams in the district this year, and they are known for their physical play.

“Clarke is always a physical team, so we came in knowing we had to match their physicality. We labeled this as a must-win game,” Oosterbaan said.

The game was fast-paced throughout, and the Mustangs gained a 1-0 lead early in the first half off of a goal by Oosterbaan, who was assisted by freshman midfielder Kavon Nowroozi. The score remained 1-0 until six minutes into the second half, when Oosterbaan added a second goal by hitting the top left upper-ninety from fifteen yards out.

Despite being down 2-0, Clarke kept the pressure on the Mustangs and made several pushes towards the goal. With thirteen minutes left, junior goalkeeper Sebastian Umerez made two crucial one-on-one saves to keep Clarke scoreless. Clarke finally got by Umerez with 1:36 left in the game by scoring off of a corner kick. However, there was too little time left and the Eagles ran out of time to add another goal.

Mason won by a final score of 2-1. After the game, the Mustang coaches told the young team how proud they were that every player stepped up when it mattered the most.

Oosterbaan stated that “a big win like this was crucial for our team at this point in the season. We played our best game when it counted.”

The Mustangs are heating up as they head into the homestretch of the regular season. This win moved them to the top of the Bull Run District. They will have to play with the same intensity that they had on Friday when they take on district rival Manassas Park, who beat the Mustangs 3-2 in overtime in their first matchup, at home on Tuesday, May 1.

Having won their prior two games, the boys soccer team came into the match with a positive vibe. They were set to face new Bull Run district rivals William Monroe High School.

Junior Adam Witzel passed the ball to senior Ian Oosterban for a goal with 29:49 left in the first half. That is all Mason would need as the defense and goal tending wouldn’t allow anything to go into the net to secure a 1-0 Mason win.

Going into Tuesday’s game against Central High School, George Mason had not gotten their first victory of the season. They lost their first two games, and tied their third.

Senior Max Kaplow took the mound in the top of the first and surrendered a run, but he got back a run in the bottom of the first on a single to drive in senior Stephen Lubnow.

The score would remain tied at one a piece until the fifth inning when freshman Evan Davis drove in a run to give Mason a 2-1 lead.

Kaplow would return to the mound for the rest of the game to seal the win for Mason.

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73 degree weather was perfect for Mason’s baseball game yesterday. Students and parents came out to watch as the Mustangs took on the Woodrow Wilson Tigers.

After a slow start, the pace of the game picked up with a total of 14 runs scored. The final score was a tie at 7-7. The next game will be at home Tuesday, March 27 at 5 p.m. against Central High.