Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

TRACK AND FIELD | Women Take Big East Title

The women keep on rolling.

After securing its first ever cross-country national championship, the Georgetown women’s track and field squad — which includes members of the 2011 national champion cross-country team — came home from New York City last weekend with a Big East title. Meanwhile, the men finished in eighth place as Notre Dame took the top spot.

The women’s balanced effort allowed the Hoyas to score points in every running event except for the 400 meter dash. And, just as it has all year, Georgetown dominated the relay events.

The women’s distance medley relay team — comprised of sophomores Kirsten Kasper, Tenille Stoudenmire, Chelsea Cox and junior Emily Infeld — had already shattered the previous school record earlier this year, but bested that mark with a Big East championship record. The team’s time of 11:08.19 was almost three seconds faster than its closest competitor, Villanova.

“Tenille ran a great leg, and Chelsea did a good job to put Emily in a position to win,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Patrick Henner said. “Anytime you’ve got somebody like Infeld, you can kind of bank on some points. Everybody else can just relax and do their job.”

The 4x800m team — comprised of senior Lauren Borduin, freshman Hannah Neczypor, Cox and junior Rachel Schneider — took third place overall behind Villanova and Notre Dame, while the 4x400m team of senior London Finley, junior Amanda Kimbers, freshman top spot.

But the relay performances had the strongest individual showings across the board from Kimbers, Cox and Infeld, who have served as the core of the team all year long. Kimbers took third in the 60m dash and second in the 200m dash, Cox finished third in the 800m run and Infeld won the 3000m run and took third in the mile run.

Despite the impressive performances from the women, Henner still sees room for improvement.

“Even at the Big East meet, we’d always like to acknowledge that we were successful, but at the same time, we’d like to [see] where we can get better,” Henner said. “We had a few people who were trying too hard to score some points … and I think they learned some pretty valuable lessons.”

The challenge for the men, however, was overcoming injuries that plagued the team throughout the indoor season. Freshman Tyler Smith and graduate student Toby Ulm missed much of the year, while senior Mark Dennin ran in his first race of the year this weekend. The men also had trouble scoring points in traditionally strong events, such as the 60m hurdles, in which graduate student Jarrett Eaton of Syracuse took the top spot.

Sophomore Hansel Akers, running in his first 500m event of the year, scored points for Georgetown with a seventh-place finish in an extremely competitive event. Akers’ departure from his normal distance, 400m, left senior Austin Perron alone in the event. He fell just shy of scoring for the Hoyas.

“The Big East 500m event this year was ridiculous,” Henner said. “I remember a couple years ago, [a time of] 1:01 was unbelievable, and now four or five guys have that.”

But going forward, Akers may hit that time and score some major points for the Blue and Gray in both the Big East and national championships.

“He still needs to get stronger and more confident, but I think a few years down the road, he can be that guy at 1:01,” Henner said. “He ran a great race and competed really well.”

The relays for the men were also strong. The DMR team, which consisted of freshman Omar Kaddurah, Ulm, senior Theon O’Conner and sophomore Andrew Springer, finished in second place behind Providence. The Friars took the top spot after an incredible performance from their anchor, senior David McCarthy.

Georgetown’s 4x800m team, comprising sophomore Bobby Peavey, Ulm, freshman Michael Reher and Kaddurah, scored a third-place finish in a tie with Connecticut. And finally, the 4x400m squad of Perron, Akers and sophomores Justin Crawford and Dylan Sorensen came in fifth place. All three relay teams scored for Georgetown.

The highlight for the men was not in a relay event, however. Springer’s time of 7:59.55 in the 3000m run was second only to Providence’s McCarthy. Both Springer and McCarthy broke the previous meet record of 8:01.56, set in 1995.

“I think Springer had one of the best Big East meets I’ve ever seen,” Henner said. “He’s really had a breakout season.”

Another bright spot for the Hoyas’ future came in the form of Reher, who competed in his first Big East championship for Georgetown. Along with a trio of sophomores — Bobby Peavey, Dylan Sorensen and Ben Furcht — Reher is the core of a young, strong middle-distance squad that will be a force moving forward.

“It’s just like I told the guys. … We’re not where we want to be, but we’re not very far off at all,” Henner said. “We still have got to get better, but we got a lot of really young guys and new sprinters coming in, so I’m optimistic about the future.”

The Hoyas are now looking ahead to the national tournament, for which the women’s DMR team has already qualified, along with Infeld and Springer for the 3000m run. Some athletes may run at Notre Dame for a last-chance meet, which gives runners a final shot at recording an automatic qualifying time for nationals.

Nationals take place March 9 and 10 in Nampa, Idaho

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