Hannah Foley

Distad embodies excellence on and off the field

Colleen Rich — Mon, 06 May 2024 14:46:15 +0000

Distad embodies excellence on and off the field Colleen Rich Mon, 05/06/2024 - 10:46

��AV lacrosse midfielder and biology major Lauren Distad is the 2024 Aimee Willard Commemorative Award recipient. This award is given annually to a student-athlete who embodies Willard's legacy and who mirrors the standards of quality set by Willard in her two-sport career: intensity, consistency of purpose, achievement, and teamwork.

Lacrosse player Lauren Distad with Athletic Director Marvin Lewis. Photo by Athletics

Distad's path to winning the Aimee Willard Award started 1,100 miles away from George Mason in Roseville, Minnesota, where she grew up. "I come from a very diverse area in Minnesota," said Distad. "I saw a lot of people that weren't given equitable care and opportunities that I was given. So, in high school, I started volunteering and doing stuff because I wanted to close that gap. I started a food drive during COVID, and that kind of kick-started me with community service stuff.”

A student-athlete’s coach must nominate them for the award. "Lauren has been a consistent contributor to our program, her school, and her community,” said George Mason women’s lacrosse head coach Kara Mupo. “She continuously upholds the highest standards through everything she does and leaves a positive and lasting impact on people in all facets of her life."

When she chose to come to George Mason, Distad says lacrosse was the leading factor, but it's not the reason she's stayed. "Lacrosse brought me here […] but I stay because of the people that I've met here and the consistency within academics and athletics. It's a great environment, great community."

Distad plays an active role in making George Mason and the surrounding Fairfax community a great place to be. In her limited free time over the past three years, Distad has served as a member of the Student Athletics Advisory Committee, as a George Mason Ambassador, a Mason Chooses Kindness Ambassador, and she is heavily involved in Morgan's Message, a nonprofit that “strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.”

Distad is also the founder of the One Love club on campus, a group that raises awareness about relationship violence by hosting events, workshops, and fundraisers. She also has excelled in the classroom; she was twice named a Athletics Provost Scholar and has been on the Dean's List for every semester she's attended George Mason. Distad also works two on-campus jobs in Athletics.

In March 2024, she received an OrthoVirginia Student Achiever Award, which recognizes George Mason student-athletes that excel in all areas—academics, athletics, and service to the community.

Off campus, Distad has volunteered at the Lloyd Moss Free Clinic as a medical scribe and has worked with FACETS at the Wedgewood Community Center, helping with afterschool enrichment. She also spent summer 2023 as a volunteer in the birth center and breast health care center at Regions Hospital in Minnesota. She is on a pre-med track and is set to take the MCAT this fall with the hopes to specialize in pediatrics or as a fertility specialist, but that's not the only reason she picked her volunteer work.

"I just like to see people happy,” Distad said. “I know it sounds super simple, but everyone deserves equitable care and to be happy and to be cared for and seen."

On the field, Distad has played all over, but has become the team's draw specialist this year, tallying 87 draw controls, good for third most in the Atlantic 10. And while she's led the draw team to be top-25 in the country in draw control percentage, she humbly credits her teammates and coaches as the reason for their success: “I couldn't do it without my draw circle. We work really well as a team. There's a lot that goes into it and it's very skilled and people don't really notice that. […] And our circle game was really good last year, but [assistant coach Riley Ewing] enhanced our on-draw calls. I'm very fortunate to have a good team that supports me and who has my back.”

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Faur paves the way for exchange student-athletes

Colleen Rich — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 19:44:39 +0000

Faur paves the way for exchange student-athletes Colleen Rich Tue, 04/23/2024 - 15:44

When ��AV tennis coach Steve Curtis got an email from Maïlys Faur asking to join his team as an exchange student, he didn't think it was possible but he was eager to check into it with our academic and compliance offices.

Maïlys Faur is an exchange student from Toulouse, France, here at George Mason for just one year. Photo by Rafael Suanes/Mason Athletics

"The initial thought was she may not be eligible because she's not working toward a degree at Mason, and there are all these complex NCAA rules," said Curtis. "Deputy Athletic Directors Nena Rogers and Malcolm Grace started looking into it because we hadn't had this situation before. But then we figured out that it was possible because she is working toward a degree at her university [in France] so it applied."

Faur is an exchange student from Toulouse, France, here for just one year as she finishes her degrees at her home university. She's currently finishing up two degrees, in political science and literature, and will return to France to graduate in May.

Her love of tennis started by accident, confusing badminton and tennis at a young age. "When I was little, I played a lot of badminton with my family in the garden," said Faur, who attends Sorbonne Université in Paris. "So when my mom asked if I wanted to play a sport, I said 'yes I want to play tennis,' but I meant badminton. I ended up on the tennis courts, and I just never quit after that."

She played with the same tennis club through high school, but there are no collegiate tennis programs outside of the United States. So when she went to school in Paris, she found a tennis club where she could play casually, but couldn't compete the same way she used to. One of the requirements at her college is an exchange year at another school, so when Faur was picking where she wanted to go, she knew she wanted it to be in the United States so she could play tennis.

Faur says her favorite memory this season was their trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, for PTR Springfest where they beat Saint Francis University, 4-3: "That was our first big win against a D1 team and so the energy on the court was nice,” said Faur. “We were screaming during all the points. That was the point where we really came together as a team."

Since joining, Curtis says Faur's been nothing but a positive impact. "She's one of those people that you can't not like. Everyone on the team thinks she's wonderful. She's been a great addition to the team."

Faur has paved a new path with her addition to Mason's women's tennis team: never before has there been an exchange student on a varsity team at George Mason. With this new knowledge of the possibilities, Faur's advice to future exchange student-athletes is: "Try to do it. It was such a great experience, I loved it. If I wasn't on the tennis team, my whole year would have been very different so I'm very grateful. I'm going to miss it so much."

Faur and team travel to Orlando, Florida, to compete at the 2024 Atlantic 10 Tennis Championships, April 24-27.

"I just want to thank Coach Curtis and all my teammates who were so welcoming.," said Faur. "I have so many good memories, and I'm really grateful for everything that happened to me."

Check out George Mason's Women's Tennis Team

Interested in becoming an exchange student?

Kestyn named first Hartley scholarship recipient

Colleen Rich — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:34:01 +0000

Kestyn named first Hartley scholarship recipient Colleen Rich Fri, 03/01/2024 - 14:34

Robert “Bobby” Kestyn, a graduate student thrower on ��AV’s track and field team, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Becky Hartley Memorial Scholarship.

Robert “Bobby” Kestyn. Photo by George Mason Athletics

Rebecca “Becky” Hartley was an assistant track and field coach from 2004 to 2022, as well as the assistant vice president for research integrity and assurance in the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact from 2015 to 2022. After her death in October 2022, a scholarship was established in her name with a lead gift of $100,000.

Hartley helped coach her student-athletes to more than 50 all-time marks in Mason’s record books, several Most Outstanding Field Performers, and an NCAA Woman of the Year semifinalist.

“[Becky] literally built the throwing program [at Mason] from nothing,” said Head Coach Andrew Gerard. “Selecting an appropriate candidate for this first ‘awarding’ of the scholarship was a particularly special one, especially since she recruited and worked with a number of the current throwers—including Bobby—prior to her passing.”

“Bobby was an easy selection—he personifies all the attributes Becky looked for and valued in her throwers,” Gerard added. “As a freshman, Bobby came in as a relatively unheralded high school thrower, but Becky saw potential. Becky always looked for the best in people, encouraging them to better themselves, and strive for constant improvement. Bobby has bought in to that mentality wholeheartedly. Since struggling both in the classroom and in the throwing circles his freshman year, he has dedicated himself to maturing as a person, student and athlete, and the results have shown that.”

A native of Fairfax, Kestyn is now on Mason's all-time list for five different disciplines: Indoor and outdoor shot put, discus, hammer, and weight throw.

“Beyond [his athletic accomplishments], he is an exemplary leader on our team, has righted his ship academically, and has thrived athletically all through a dedication to seeking consistent improvement,” Gerard said, all of which made Kestyn the right choice for the inaugural awarding of the scholarship.

“I am very humbled to receive this [scholarship] and especially honored to be the first recipient,” said Kestyn. “Coach Becky was a very influential person in my life and someone who picked me up at my weakest moments. Her coaching made me a better thrower but more importantly her mentorship, support, and overall kindness made me a better person. I aspire to be like Coach Becky.”

The Coach Becky Hartley Memorial Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to a student who competes in the throwing events in the Mason men’s or women’s track and field programs. Help support the Coach Becky Hartley Memorial Endowed Scholarship.