Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams will take to the road for their second weekend of competition this outdoor season. Both squads will send groups of athletes to Coral Gables, Fla., and Fairfax, Va., to compete in the University of Miami’s Hurricane Alumni Invitational and the Mason Spring Invitational, respectively.
On the women’s side, graduate student Andrea Keklak came off a record-breaking indoor season for the Hoyas, when she set Georgetown records in both the women’s 1000-meter race with 2:42.76 and the mile with 4:33.24. She also helped the women’s distance medley relay squad win first place in its event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field championships in a combined time of 10:57.21.
Keklak said the team performance at the NCAA championships at the end of the indoor season put Georgetown’s program in the national spotlight.
“Our coach always says in running, ‘deserve’ is a word you can never use. Just because you put in training and deserve something doesn’t mean you are going to get it,” Keklak said.
“I think that a lot of times we go into the indoor and outdoor seasons with so much training under us that we expect good things to happen and sometimes things just don’t pan out. I think we run fast every year, but this was the first year we approached that meet with the confidence we needed to,” Keklak added.
At the Stanford Invitational meet last weekend, the Hoyas saw senior Samantha Nadel and freshman Audrey Belf grab early season momentum, putting forth strong performances in the women’s 5000m event. Nadel ran a time of 16:02.06, while Belf followed her, clocking in at 16:16.40.
“Outdoor season is the culmination of all of our hard work during the year,” Nadel said. “A major goal of this program is to get as many people to the regional meet as possible and from there to the national meet. It’s the most hyped-up season in track and field in general so that is what we train for.”
Junior Amos Bartelsmeyer led the Hoyas in the men’s team’s first meet of the outdoor season. Bartelsmeyer continued his consistent performance as one of Georgetown’s top runners by clocking in at 14:05.05 in the men’s 5000m race at the Colonial Relays.
Bartelsmeyer said he hopes to make the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore., in June.
“I’ve been in indoor national championships, and this fall was my first cross country national championship, but I’ve never made it to an outdoor one which is kind of big. It is the most prestigious one and the one that matters most in a lot of people’s eyes,” Bartelsmeyer said.
He added that he is also aiming to make the Olympic trials in early July.
“I’m going to take one shot at that, and if I don’t get it, that’s fine,” he said.
Sophomore Joe White has continued to make a name for himself as well. White, winner of the 800m race in the Big East championship during the indoor season with a time of 1:47.59, enjoyed early season success as he ran a time of 3:47.37 in the men’s 1500m event, claiming fourth place overall.
The Hoyas will have a week of rest after this weekend and then travel back to Palo Alto, Calif., and Charlottesville, Va., to compete in the Stanford Twilight Meet and the UVA Challenge.
