Azcue wins 800m, Matthews places third in triple jump at George Mason

Fairfax, VA – The Clayton State women’s and men’s track and field teams returned to action Sunday in the George Mason Last Chance meet in Fairfax, Va., with several impressive performances.

Ayrton Azcue won the 800m in 1:52.98, an NCAA Division II provisional time but did not post his fastest time of the year. Jessica Matthews finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 38-10, but shorter than her best mark of the season.

Azcue, who is automatically qualified for the championship meet, entered the weekend ranked No. 4 in the 800m run for Division II while Matthews entered the weekend ranked No. 9 in the triple jump.

"We had a strong showing in this meet and this was a good tune-up for Jessica and Ayrton as they get ready for the indoor championships in two weeks," said head coach Mike Mead. "Paige and Job made big gains in their 3K racing."

Also for the Lakers, Job Kemboi finished 3rd in the 3,000 m run, breaking his own team record by almost nine seconds, running 8:39.56. Shelby Russell finished seventh in the 400m with a season-best effort of 51.23.

Paige Galvin placed fourth in the 3,000m run while bettering her own team record by nearly nine seconds. She finished with a time of 10:28.54. Racquel Valadez placed 10th in the 3,000m run in 10:53.28.

Azcue and Matthews will return to action in the NCAA Division II National Championships on March 8-9 in Birmingham, AL.