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

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD | Hoyas Open Season With Strong Showing at Bucknell

Georgetown’s track and field team kicked off the indoor season this past weekend at the Bucknell Bison Opener and the Navy Invitational, earning a handful of qualifying times for the Big East Indoor Championship in February.

In the only event before the end of the semester, the Blue and Gray wanted to test their off-season training at the Bison Opener.

“The main thing now is just to get an opportunity for [less experienced runners] to get some competing in,” Director of Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Patrick Henner said.

The Hoyas’ training schedule aims to have the team peak in February for the Big East and national championships. But since most indoor track athletes compete in the spring for the outdoor season as well, Henner knows that the squad should try to avoid burning out over the winter.

“The training [regimen] is mainly trying to get them very fit, but a fitness that will last all the way to summer,” Henner said.

Georgetown is no stranger to the Bucknell event, having opened its season there each year for the past decade. While the competition is generally not Big East caliber, the meet serves as a good start for the Hoyas’ indoor season.

“The competition was good enough for what we wanted to accomplish,” Henner said. “We mostly just wanted to get the rust off.”

Junior Tenille Stoudenmire, who missed all of last year with an injury, recorded the fastest time in the 200-meter dash but just missed the Big East qualifying mark. In her first open 400m run ever, junior Amanda Kimbers easily qualified for the Big East championship with her time of 57.14 seconds.

The marquee race, however, was senior London Finley’s 300m dash in 39.69 seconds, one of the fastest in school history.

“I’m very happy with London’s run,” Henner said. “It was the performance of the meet for Georgetown.”

Coming off of a stellar freshman year, sophomore Chelsea Cox broke Bucknell’s record in the 1000m run with a time of 2:53.22. Following Cox was senior teammate Lauren Borduin. The two took the top spots in the event.

“Chelsea’s training this fall has been very good,” Henner said. “She’s very versatile, and she can run a full range of distances. If you’re fit, you’re fit, and your talent allows you to run that type of range. And Chelsea’s talented.”

Proving her versatility, Cox also competed in the 4x400m relay with freshmen Natalie Englese and Finley, as well as senior Chela Green. The squad came in second overall with a time of 3:54.51.

“The leadoff carries were very good,” Henner said. “Both London and Chela did a really good job, and I was pretty happy with [their performance].”

Junior Justin Crawford and sophomore Eghosa Aghayere joined the women’s track runners to compete in the men’s events.

Crawford, whose performance in the 60m hurdles earned him a spot in the Big East championship, has big shoes to fill with the departure of Chris Kinney, one of the top hurdlers in the school’s history.

“The first thing is that Justin has got to get in good shape,” Henner said. “He’s a very talented athlete, but he’s a long way from doing anything [like Kinney].”

Aghayere competed in the triple jump and recorded the best result of any collegiate athlete in Saturday’s event with a distance of 14.24m.

While field events have typically been Georgetown’s weakness, Henner is hopeful that Aghayere will prove to be vital in putting up much-needed points in that category for the Hoyas.

“If we can come out of the field events with some points on the board, that can do nothing but help us,” Henner said. “And I think if Eghosa keeps improving, he can put some points on the board for the Big East [championship].”

The track and field team will not see action until next semester, when the squad travels to Fairfax, Va., for the Father Diamond Invitational on Jan. 7.

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