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

Cross Country | Teams Start Fall Season With Top-5 Finishes

The Georgetown men’s and women’s cross country teams travelled to State College, Pa., for the first meet of the 2018 fall campaign last weekend.

Junior distance runner Margie Cullen finished 13th in the The Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational
GU Hoyas

The Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational produced a number of noteworthy individual performances for both teams. The women’s team clinched a third-place finish behind host Penn State and perennial rival Syracuse, tallying 73 total points.

Junior Paige Hofstad clocked a time of 21:01 in the 6000-meter race and finished third overall, while freshman Katherine Modrall grabbed eighth place in 21:19.

Junior Margie Cullen and freshman Katie Dammer finished 13th and 17th, respectively, in a pool of nearly 130 competitors. Both runners completed the race in under 22 minutes.

Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Julie Culley was impressed with the team’s performance.

“We had a great outing for our freshmen and sophomores in particular. Paige Hofstad had a solid race and she pulled several of our freshman in tow, including Kate Modrall and Katie Dammer,” Culley said in an interview with The Hoya. “Margie Cullen will continue to move up in races as the season progresses and we look forward to putting most of the lineup together in a few weeks in Wisconsin.”

Culley predicted an improvement in performance with a larger roster down the road.

“I’m pleased with this finish based on several of our women resting this first weekend. We are confident the team will be further up in races once we return our full squad,” Culley said.

The Hoyas are looking forward to competing at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational .

“We’d like to race really well as a team and mix it up with some of the best programs in the country,” Culley said. “We are looking forward to getting acclimated to the course in Wisconsin and gaining confidence heading into October.”

The men’s performance was also notable as they finished in fifth place with 128 points.

Four Hoyas crossed the finish line in under 27 minutes in the 5.2-mile race. Sophomore Ty Brownlow’s time of 26:31 was the 17th-fastest time overall, while junior Eion Nohilly’s finished 23rd with a time of 26:47.

Junior Joshua Bell completed the race on Nohilly’s heels, finishing one second behind his teammate. Junior Dylan Scarsone marked the fourth Hoya runner in the top 30, placing 28th with a time of 26:53.

Seven Hoyas placed in the top 50 in the 5.2-mile race. Brandon Bonsey, the head men’s cross country coach, stressed the bigger picture as the season progresses.

“I thought it was a good, solid start; it’s been so hot and humid here that doing much quality work at race pace has kind of been difficult,” Bonsey said. “We want to be a good team in September, but they don’t give trophies out in September. We’re still training really hard right now, and our sights are definitely set on those postseason meets.”

Both teams will compete at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational on Sept. 28.

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  • A

    AaronSep 24, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    Few of these runners will end up representing us in the Olympics. Believe that. A lot of talent this season.

    Reply
  • H

    HannahSep 21, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    Really good post, thanks for sharing.

    Reply