June 23, 2008

George Mason head men's track and field/cross country coach Andrew Gerard has announced the signing of six student-athletes to join the Patriots in the 2008-09 year. They are Parker Boudreau (Danbury, Conn./Danbury), Ja-Vell Bullard (Hampton, Va./Bethel), Everett Hackett (Hartford, Ct./William Hall), LaVell Handy (Hampton, Va./Hampton), Rachaunn Ruffin (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) and Tom Troxell (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest).

"We are very pleased with the class so far. We've filled in some holes and also added depth to our current strengths," said Gerard. "We've brought in a wide range of guys that are going to help us immediately and help us across a broad range of events. It's definitely a class that's going to get us a lot of attention and move us in a positive direction."

Boudreau has found success in a number of middle distance events, including the 800-meter where he is the Connecticut state record holder. He notched the fastest time in the nation this past season indoors in the 1,000-meter winning the New England championship in the process. Additionally, he has been the Connecticut state champion in the 800 the past two seasons and just recently captured the New England Championship is the 800m as well. Indoors, he was also a part of the national champion 4x1-mile relay team, earning All-American honors for his efforts.

"Parker comes out of a great program at Danbury High School, and we are very fortunate to have one of its shining stars coming in," Gerard explained. "He has got tremendous versatility, a great background training-wise, and will really bolster our strength across the middle distance events."

Bullard, an All-American and both the indoor and outdoor national champion in the 400, is also the reigning state champion in the 400-meter outdoors, and ran the nation's fastest time in both the 300 and 500 in the indoor season. This past weekend, Bullard won the Nike National Outdoor title with a personal record time of 46.54 in the 400.

"Ja-Vell is very exciting addition for us," Gerard explained. "He may be the most successful individual athlete in the state this year but he also comes from a tremendously strong team background which is very important to us. He'll make a big impact for us as well in both areas. He will definitely factor in to our plans both as an individual contender for honors at all levels and quickly help to elevate our relays into the limelight just as he's been able to do at Bethel."

Hackett, the state record holder and state champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 9:25.64, is a 2008 All-American as well, as he finished third at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in the 5,000-meters. He is the state indoor champion in the 3,200-meter as well as in the 4x800-meter relay, and just recently finished fourth in the 3,200 at the 2008 high school New England Championship.

"Everett is a longer-distance guy who will definitely help us both in cross country and on the track," said Gerard. "I know his best days are still ahead of him. He's tremendously competitive, very versatile and will have an immediate impact for us in a variety of the longer events."

Handy, who was the state runner up in the triple jump, was a 2008 indoor All-American in the event and has a best of 48'5.5". Beyond that, however, he also competes at the national level in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles as well as the long jump, and is currently ranked in the top-4 in Virginia in all four of the events.

"LaVell is probably our most versatile athlete coming in," explained Gerard. "He can sprint, run both the long and the short hurdles and cover both the long and triple jumps. I think that's one of the reasons you haven't seen some really huge results from him, because he has been juggling a lot of events at a lot of meets, and performs a lot of roles for his high school team. One of our goals is going to be to give him the opportunity to be more selective on a meet-by-meet basis and we're confident that he can make big jumps forward in all of his many events."

Ruffin is a 2007 AAU All-American in both the 100 and 200, and was the state runner-up in South Carolina in both events. He is one of the top-15 returnees in both races, and according to Gerard, "Rachaunn plugs a hole for us in that he is a true short sprinter, but he's also got the mindset that he wants to run the long sprints, specifically the 400. I think he is going to help us on the short end of things but he can also step up and run the longer events which is key for us in looking ahead. He had a little bit of a hamstring problem late in the season so I don't think we're going to see any huge results from him this season but that just means that may be a surprise to some people next spring - but not to us..."

The final signee is Troxell, who was a Pennsylvania state finalist in both the individual 800-meters and as part of Cedar Crest's 4x800m and 4x400m relays. The District 3 champion, his time of 1:52.61 in the 800m event was the fastest time in the state and ranks among the nation's elite as well. Gerard is looking forward to seeing him continue to make leaps forward.

"We liked Tom from early in the recruiting process because of his attitude and the tools he possessed but he hadn't notched any big results, and then all of a sudden he exploded," he explained. "He has great speed and is a prototypical 400/800-meter guy. I know he is very excited because this year has been a breakthrough year for him and our goal is for him to carry that forward in a Mason uniform. He has been a little bit of a surprise from our recruiting class but he will help us fill a lot of roles."

PERSONAL BESTS

Parker Boudreau: 800 - 1:50.86, 1000 - 2:27.63, 4x1-mile - 4:17.23
JaVell Bullard: 300 - 33.97, 400 - 46.54, 500 - 1:04.10
Everett Hackett: Mile - 4:20.55, 3000 Steeplechase - 9:25.64, 3200 - 9:11.29
LaVell Handy: 110HH - 14.26, 300H - 37.94, TJ - 48'5.5", LJ, 23'5"
Rachaunn Ruffin: 100 - 10.54, 200 - 21.42
Tom Troxell: 800 - 1:52.61