Courtesy Peynado Davin Williams led the charge in the 400m relays, propelling the Hoyas to a successful overall performance.

The Georgetown track and field program left Washington, D.C.’s erratic weather behind last weekend in favor of sunshine and consistent results.

Highlighted by a multitude of personal records and regional qualifying efforts at the Florida and Raleigh Relays, the Hoyas emerged from both contests with confidence, and the security of having obtained regional bids early in the season.

“I thought [the Florida Relay] was an excellent meet for us,” Associate Head Coach Andrew Valmon said. “We covered a lot of events, and what we wanted to do was get regional qualifying times, give the kids an opportunity to go down and compete in some warm weather, and start to experience the competition level that we’ll be facing later in the season. I thought it was a great start.”

Led by senior Davin Williams in the jumps and a trio of outstanding performances in the men’s 400m, the group competing at the Florida Relays amassed an impressive collection of regional qualifying marks and shattered personal records in stunning frequency.

Williams pulled in two regional qualifications, with leaps of 7.40m and 14.94m in the long jump and triple jump, respectively.

“Getting qualified early in the season definitely takes a lot of pressure off,” Williams said. “You can enjoy the rest of the season and have fun. And for people that qualified and have injuries, it gives them time to nurse their ailments.”

While competing alongside several SEC schools – which will be Georgetown’s main competition at the NCAA Eastern Region Championships – the Florida Relays gave the Hoyas a rare opportunity to evaluate the opposition.

“I think the meet will be a pretty good preview of Regionals,” Williams said. “It was nice to get a chance to see some of the competition.”

Seniors James Graham and Robert Wingate-Robinson led Georgetown in the 400m, where they timed 47.26 and 47.32, respectively, to earn a pair of regional qualifying marks. Junior Ali Najjar followed his two teammates in the event with a personal record time of 47.49.

Graham also claimed a regional qualification in the 400m hurdles, where he logged 51.32. Senior Jamillah Bowman had similar success on the women’s side in the 400m hurdles, where she earned a bid to the regional meet with her time of 1:00.04.

Following their phenomenal indoor seasons, junior Maura McCusker and freshman Meghan O’Neil had great runs in the 1,500m to open their outdoor campaigns. McCusker won the race in a personal record and regional qualifying time of 4:29.74, and O’Neil followed in a personal record time of 4:39.74.

Together with juniors Kori Hamilton and Treniere Clement, cCusker and O’Neil also helped lead the women’s 4 x 800m relay team to victory, where the quartet logged 8:43.59 to top a field of nine teams.

Junior Monica Hargrove ran a personal record time of 24.24 in the 200m, and in the men’s 800m, freshman Stanley Lagrenade notched another PR, with a time of 1:51.67.

“I think the PRs and regional qualifications set us in the right direction for this weekend,” Valmon said. “I think these kids are going to be primed for it.”

For some athletes, the team’s next meet – the Duke Relays – will be a return to familiar ground, after competing in the Raleigh Relays last weekend.

Sophomore Rod Koborsi (14:07) and senior Mike Smith (14:22) led the team at the Raleigh Relays by claiming regional qualifications in the 5,000m.

“Our best performance [at the Raleigh Relays] was definitely by Rod Koborsi,” Men’s Cross Country and Distance Coach Patrick Henner said. “He was the first collegiate finisher, he ran a PR and finished the race very, very fast. He finished his last 800m in 2:04 or 2:05, so on the men’s side, that was definitely the best performance we had there.”

Henner also praised the performances of sophomore Tommy Manning in the 5,000m, and senior Dylan Welsh in the 1,500m.

The women’s team was led by senior Emily Reaman’s 4:36.19 showing in the 1,500m, and freshman Erin Henry’s fifth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase.

This weekend, the team will enter the Duke Relays with objectives similar to those of last week.

“We’re going to go back down there this weekend to try to again pick up some regional qualifying times and give these kids an opportunity to compete,” Valmon said.

With some of the older athletes scheduled to stay home this weekend, the team will place a greater emphasis on developing its younger talent.

“Hopefully we’ll get some good times in the 800m and 1,500m and allow some of the younger guys to get some experience,” Henner said.