Courtesy Erickson The men’s cross country team ended its fall campaign with a seventh-place finish at the NCAAs.

While Georgetown’s best runners circle the track at the Navy Invitational, marking the start of the indoor track season, they have put to rest one of the team’s finest cross country seasons to date. The men captured three first-place finishes, including the Big East conference title and ended up seventh at the season-ending NCAA Championships, while the women ended on top at four meets and finished 16th in the nation.

Each week the team improved aspects of its running collectively as individuals made frequent leaps in progress from meet to meet. By the end of the season, a solid pack of seven runners emerged to represent Georgetown in the ultimate race of the season – the NCAA Championships. It was not only these runners who contributed to the overall success of the team, but each meet saw different runners record breakthrough races and contribute points to the team. With a young flock of runners added to the roster, the Hoyas were aided by the freshmen who joined the team and became great assets.

The team opened the season at the Georgetown Invitational in Fairfax, Va., where they set the tone for the rest of the season. Both the men’s and women’s teams captured first-place finishes as senior Dan Tebbano and junior Nicole Lee led successful team performances.

The following week, the Hoyas followed up with a first-place finish by the women and runner-up honors for the men at the George Washington Invitational. On the women’s side, the win was even more impressive as many of their top runners sat out during the meet.

Georgetown’s streak continued at the Paul Short Invitational, where junior Rod Koborsi led the squad to a first-place finish once again. Koborsi finished runner-up in a field of over 230 runners with a time of 24:17.03 for the 8km race. All of these invitational meets were planned to get the team in shape for the second half of the season, filled with meets on a national scale. The next meet was the NCAA Pre-Nationals where the Hoyas needed to make a statement and assert their presence for the championship season. The veteran runners joined with the rookies for a successful combination of experience, talent and enthusiasm.

Going into the Pre-National meet, Georgetown was ranked 14th in the Mondo national rankings. This proved to be an underestimate of the Hoya talent as the men captured a fourth-place finish in the race. They were led once again by Koborsi throughout the 8km distance. The women, who were ranked eighth in the FinishLynx national poll, finished in seventh place out of a field of 32 competing schools in the women’s 6,000m course. Senior Treniere Clement, who proved to be a great leader for the team, began to show her skills by taking the top team spot at this competition.

The team’s next meet proved to be their greatest accomplishment of the season. The men’s team beat some of the best teams in the nation to capture the Big East Championship. The conference title was the men’s first since 1994, and their 37-point margin of victory is the largest Big East win in over two decades. This effort was led by Koborsi and sophomore Chris Lukezic, who crossed the line in second and third places, respectively, in times of 24:38 and 24:42 for the 8,000m course. Koborsi and Lukezic were awarded All-Big East Honors, as were other Hoya scorers sophomore Fleet Hower, junior Chris Esselborn, senior Javon Broderick and freshman Matt Debole. The coaching staff of Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Ron Helmer and the men’s team Head Coach Patrick Henner were awarded Coaching Staff of the Year honors from the conference for their guidance and instruction.

The women also impressed as they returned to the Hilltop with their third-place finish. Clement and Lee headed this team effort with their top-10 finishes and All-Big East Honors, as did senior Amanda Pape for her 15th place finish. To the squad’s dismay, they were running without freshman Elizabeth Maloy for the second week in a row who sat out with back pains. Without Maloy to grab a top position, they missed the runner-up position by four points. The men’s cross country Head Coach Pat Henner described the meet as “one of the best team performances I have ever coached.”

The string of successes helped the team gain the confidence needed for the other part of the championship season. They established their presence in the country as a strong force and as a possible contender for the top prize in the bigger meets to come.

With their top performances at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, the Hoyas earned automatic team bids to the NCAA Championships. The women’s cross country team, ranked 16th in the nation at the time, turned in a victorious performance as the runners won the meet and became the Regional Champions, beating out a field of 26 other teams. The Hoyas have won the Regionals for the past five years consecutively and hold the record for the longest streak of qualifying for Nationals, which was extended to 16 years with this latest win.

This team effort was led yet again by Clement, who continued her impressive senior campaign with a first-place finish in a time of 20:02 in a race that featured over 170 runners. “We told Treniere to just stay with the lead pack and to remain in that position until the end, where she made her move with 400m to go to win the race,” Ron Helmer said. Backing up the Hoya scoring were Lee, Pape, junior Jodee Adams-Moore and senior Colleen Kelly.

“We needed to run well as a team, and to make our presence known in the nation. The girls responded to his pressure and created a great identity for the team,” Helmer said.

The race which defined the season and served as a climax of the hard work and preparation from the past few months was the NCAA Championships.

Competing in the most prestigious and significant meet of the season, the Hoyas shined under the pressure as they sped down the course in Cedar Falls, Iowa. With over 30 of the most competitive teams featured in the race, the Hoyas represented Georgetown in their typical triumphant fashion by landing in the top 10 and by capturing an impressive seventh-place finish. Lukezic and Koborsi, who finished in 34th and 35th places, led the team performance, followed by Broderick, Hower and Debole.

On the women’s side, Pape led the Hoyas with 44 points, as Clement, Lee, Adams-Moore and Kelly rounded out the scoring. This 16th-place finish ended their 15-year streak of consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA meet.

The Hoyas capped off one of their most successful seasons to date, especially for the men’s team. The team proved the national rankings to be wrong more than once and bettered them. Every goal that the Hoyas set before them were completely accomplished.

Earlier in the season, Helmer said, “All of our racing is geared towards peaking for the NCAA champs and trying to place within the top 10, or maybe even creeping up a little higher.” A month later, after dozens of workouts, practices and runs that have pushed their personal limits that is exactly what the Hoyas have done.