After impressive performances on both coasts, the Georgetown track and field team is making its final preparations to compete in the Big East championship at the Armory in New York City this weekend.
The Hoyas are coming off their best weekend yet after sending athletes to Washington State and Massachusetts. At the Washington Husky Classic, junior Andrew Springer clocked a time of 7:53.69 in the 3000-meter run, placing him seventh overall. Springer broke his personal record by over 16 seconds and qualified for both the Big East and NCAA championships in the process.
“When you put it in context of Georgetown’s history, it’s the number four [best] time ever,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Patrick Henner said. “And that puts him right up there with some of the great legends.”
On the other side of the country, junior Emily Infeld took the 3000m run with a time of 9:00.13 in the BU Valentine Invitational, which qualified her for the NCAA championship. Her time was the best in Georgetown’s history and was her personal record by over six seconds.
“She ran a great race and looked really great out there,” Henner said.
But Infeld wasn’t the only athlete to impress in Boston. Every single runner set a personal record at the meet. In the 800m run, sophomore Chelsea Cox ran a time of 2:05.88, and on the men’s side senior Theon O’Connor clocked 1:49.37.
“Chelsea had a big-time run. [It’s] number three in Georgetown’s history, and [in] any event 800m or longer, we’re one of the best programs in the country,” Henner said. “And Theon had a nice breakthrough, too. [His race] put him 11th on the all-time list.”
The exceptional performances across the board are the result of a rigorous training schedule that has allowed the team to peak leading up to the Big East championship and nationals.
“This was a weekend we were pointing toward. … We can still run faster, but it’s definitely a weekend we were pointing towards,” Henner said.
Heading toward the championship weekend, the Blue and Gray are backing off the training in order to rest up. The team is focusing on staying relaxed and poised.
“We didn’t train that hard this week, and now we just stand rested,” Henner said. “I’m very pleased. … It really shows we’re coming along.”
Georgetown traditionally scores the bulk of its points in the hurdles, but this year, that task may prove daunting given the level of competition. Henner is looking for the Hoyas to pick up points in the relays, middle-distance and long-distance events.
“The Big East has moved forward, especially in hurdles,” Henner said. “[Graduate student] Jarret Eaton [of Syracuse] is one of the best hurdlers in the history of the sport. [Our hurdlers] are definitely going to have to bring down their times if they want to score some points.”
The men will be without freshman Tyler Smith, who was expected to score points for Georgetown in the Big East championship. Meanwhile, graduate student Toby Ulm will be limited to just the relay events, as he is still recovering from a sore hip.
But the Hoyas will be working off the momentum they built up this past weekend as they move closer to the championships.
“I think [the athletes] are feeling good and are ready to go,” Henner said. “We’re going to go in there and compete really hard, and I’m confident we can do really well. The women will be right up there competing for a title, but I think everyone we’re taking is primed and ready to go.”
Because so much of success in track is attributed to successful training, the athletes need to be ready at this point in the season in order to do well. Strategy on race day is tailored to each athlete — not the entire team — so the mentality going forward must be positive if the Hoyas want to be successful this weekend.
“Staying relaxed and having fun competing [is] a huge part of it,” Henner said. “All the work’s done, and a vast majority of the coaching is done. And now, it’s on the athletes to go out and execute.”
