Six weeks after their last race, the Hoyas wasted no time dusting off their cleats, hitting the ground running in the Nittany Lion Challenge to begin the indoor track season.

The Georgetown men’s and women’s track and field teams raced against 15 other schools on Saturday, Jan. 13 in State College, Penn., earning 19 individual top-10 finishes and three team top-10 finishes in total. The Hoyas were particularly impressive in middle-distance events, powered both by team veterans and exciting young talent.

The men’s team dominated the 600-meter, taking four of the top eight spots in the event. First-year and 2023 USA Track and Field U20 800-meter national champion Tinoda Matsatsa added a second consecutive win to his young resume with a time of 1:16.68. Graduate Tim McInerney, first-year Ryan Mulrooney and junior Matthew Griffin followed in close succession in fifth, seventh and eighth place, respectively. Graduate Kaira Brown and junior Renee Newton earned eighth and ninth place in the women’s 600.

In the women’s 400, All-American graduate Maya Drayton and Big East champion junior KC Ashiogwu topped the competition in first and second with times of 55.74 and 56.13, respectively. Senior Grace Smiechowski also had a strong showing, earning eighth place with a time of 57.98. Sophomore Nicholas Givan placed sixth on the men’s side, finishing in 49.11.

Senior Joshua Paige starred in the men’s sprint events, winning the 200 and earning sixth place in a crowded 60 field. The seven-time Big East champion dashed out to a 21.30 time in the 200 and slightly improved upon his prelim performance for a 6.85 finish in the 60. Senior Rebecca Ochan and sophomore Jadah Fitzgerald finished fifth and tenth in the women’s 200 in 24.76 and 25.27.

All-American and three-time Big East champion graduate Matthew Payamps won the 3000 with a time of 8:06.20. Graduate Peter Herold and sophomore Caleb Lakeman placed fourth and seventh in the mile and 1000, respectively, adding to the Hoyas’ list of stellar performances in middle-distance races.

Although Georgetown had fewer athletes competing in the jumping events, senior Christopher Pitt and junior Alexis Emery logged strong results. Pitt came in fifth in the men’s long jump with a distance of 21’ 9.5”, while Emery was tenth in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 36’ 10.5”.

In the 4×400 relay event, both the women’s and men’s teams had solid showings. Both women’s teams finished in the top 10; the A team of Brown, Ochan, Newton and Ashiogwu was fifth with a time of 3:50.46, and the B team of Fitzgerald, Drayton and first-years Piper Rodgers and Victoria Vidolova was eighth in 3:57:03.

The men’s 4×400 A team of senior Sean Hewitt, Givan, McInerney and Matsatsa were third in the field at 3:16.57, while the B team finished just seven seconds behind in twelfth place.

Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Alton McKenzie told Georgetown Athletics the team aims to use the Nittany Lion Challenge as a springboard into the rest of the track season.

“Returning from holiday break and getting back into competition is always a challenge, with regular training routines interrupted,” McKenzie said. “With that considered, the priority is for everyone who competed to use this meet to build for the rest of the season. We look forward to continuing the work and progress towards a successful indoor season.”

Although early season results are often unrepresentative of postseason success due to adjustments to a rigorous training and competition schedule, the Nittany Lion Challenge saw impressive performances from several first-year runners. Matsatsa was the clear standout with his 600 performance, and Mulrooney, Rodgers, Vidolova and Barrett Justema also displayed their potential with encouraging results.

Georgetown will look to build upon its momentum at the Hokie Invitational at Blacksburg, Va., on Jan. 19 and 20.