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 & FIELD | Medley Stars Take On Penn Relays

After a successful weekend at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., and the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton University, the Georgetown track and field team will ready itself for the Penn Relays in Philadelphia this weekend. Director of Track and Field and Cross-Country Patrick Henner was extremely pleased with his team’s performances last weekend.

“We had some great performances,” Henner said. “The highlights on the sprint side were [All-American graduate student] Amanda Kimbers’ 23.6 200 [meter], which she won. Two years ago, Amanda was one of the very best sprinters in the country, and then she had some unfortunate injuries last year, but I think she’s getting back very close to being at her [previous] level.”

Kimbers’ 200m performance was a season best. She also ran the lead of the women’s 4-x-400m relay team that also included senior All-American Deseree King, sophomore Mirabel Nkenke and senior All-American Chelsea Cox. The team finished in first place with a time of 3:46.94.

Henner was impressed with the men’s sprinters as well.

“[Senior] Hansel Akers [set a personal record in] the 400m hurdles,” Henner said. “Hansel and I both know he’s going to be ready to run much faster in the future, but I’m just really excited about his training and his progress as of late.”

Akers finished ninth overall in the 400m hurdles, winning his heat with a time of 53.87.

Sophomore Darren Fahy received the nod as Big East Track Athlete of the Week after his second-place finish in the men’s 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:43.12. Senior Matt Howard and All-American graduate student Dylan Sorensen followed close behind at fourth place at 8:47.02 and fifth place at 8:47.07, respectively.

“Our best performances came in the men’s steeplechase,” Henner said. “Darren Fahy in his collegiate debut in the steeplechase ran 8:43, which is the number four time in Georgetown history and number three in the country right now. Matt Howard and Dylan Sorenson are also ranked among the top 10 to 15 in the country.”

Henner was pleased with the depth of his women’s 1500m athletes as well, and looks toward the Penn Relays this weekend.

“In past years, the times they ran have always gotten into the NCAA first rounds, so I was very excited about the depth we showed there,” Henner said. “Especially when a lot of our middle-distance athletes stayed at home last weekend just resting to get ready for this weekend’s Penn Relay.”

For the upcoming meet, Henner continues to stress the importance of balance between work and rest.

“It’s an interesting dilemma, because obviously we want to be very good at all of the relays out there,” Henner said. “But at the same time, if you’re not careful with the athletes, you can leave them exhausted at the end of this weekend and heading into the postseason not ready to perform at their best. We want to field a really good relay squad so we’ve got to pick and choose our battles and figure out where we have the best opportunity of high-level success without exhausting our athletes.”

The 120th Penn Relays take place April 24 through April 26. It’s an extremely competitive race with thousands of athletes competing from all over the country. Henner is excited for what the meet offers.

“I feel like we’re going to field great relays. It’s something where you want to perform well because it’s one of the biggest stages in track and field,” Henner said. “Usually on Saturday there are 50,000 people in the stands.”

Henner is very optimistic about his team’s chances.

“On a national scale, our middle-distance relays, the women’s distance medley, and 4-x-8, the men’s distance medley and 4-x-8, I think are all in the hunts for the wins.”

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