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Friday, Feb. 7, 2025
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AU track shatters records at Patriot Games

Eagles break two school records for relay, dash at George Mason

American University sophomore Lorelei Bangit and senior Lucia Ianello knew one thing for sure heading into their 4x400 meter relay at the 2025 George Mason Patriot Games: the AU women’s track team was about to break another school record. 

Joined by freshmen Lara Gin and Zoe Clark, the four finished with an astonishing time of 3:56.03, beating the previous AU record (4:01.23) by five seconds. 

The 4x400 meter relay is always the last event of the day, meaning all four American runners had competed in various other races throughout the day and doubled back for the big finale. This was the first time this Eagles squad ran this event together, and with only a warm-up under their batons, they remained calm and confident. 

“I wasn’t too stressed about how we were going to do or if we were going to drop the baton or anything,” Ianello said. “I knew everyone was going to do well if they ran their fastest, and that’s all I was trying to do.”

The Eagles men’s track team also made the trip to Fairfax, Virginia on Feb. 1 for the 2025 Patriot Games hosted by George Mason University. Both teams competed in nine events each and brought home a collective 19 personal records and two school records.. 

This was the second race for the Eagles this season, whereas in previous years it would have been the third or fourth, according to head coach Sean Graham

“It’s time to go to work,” Graham said. “In terms of, they’ve now trained really hard on their own. I mean, over winter break, they’re gone from about December 13, plus or minus, and then we don’t come back until about January 8, 9, 10. So there’s not a lot of time where they were doing this together, literally at practice.”

The women’s team opened up the day with freshman Tamara Dorval beating the AU school record for the 60-meter dash after a 7.80-second run in the preliminary round. Sophomore Ciera Thacker reached a new personal record in the same event, finishing the final in first place with a 7.84-second run. 

The women’s team moved to the 400-meter dash, where Bangit kept the winning streak with a 56.82-second run and a first-place finish. Gin followed right behind her, coming in second place with a time of 58.49 and a new personal record. 

“I just try to think ‘stay calm,’” Bangit said. “I also try to think, ‘yeah, you can do this.’ I think that’s being strong and knowing what I can do.” 

While the women’s team met new personal records, the men’s team celebrated victories of their own.

Junior Kaden Kluth competed in the mile run for the second time in his collegiate career. Alongside him was junior Carver Morgan and freshman Ty Parker. Kluth finished in first place with a time of 4:07.26 and a new personal record. Morgan was not far behind, coming in third with a time of 4:11.45, followed by Parker with 4:19.53.  

In the second to last event of the day, freshman Noah Smith competed in the men’s 3,000-meter run and finished with a new personal record of 8:28.42. He was followed by fellow freshman Jaden Frederick in fifth place with a new personal record of 8:35.81. 

“I love seeing my teammates do well, and [Smith] is a younger guy, he has nothing to prove,” Kluth said. “He just went out there and honestly executed very well. Very, very good race. [Smith] did what he was supposed to do every single lap, and it paid off.” 

After a record-breaking weekend, the Eagles are heading to the Liberty Open in Lynchburg, Virginia, for a two-day meet taking place on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8. 

This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella, Hannah Langenfeld and Nicole Kariuki. 

sports@theeagleonline.com 


Section 202 hosts Connor Sturniolo and Gabrielle McNamee are joined by fellow Eagle staff member and phenomenal sports photographer, Josh Markowitz. Follow along as they discuss the United Football League and the benefits it provides for the world of professional football.


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