The Georgetown track and field team welcomed the new year with a handful of impressive performances at the Father Diamond Invitational on Jan. 7 at the Recreation Sports Complex in Fairfax, Va., where the team posted a total of eight first-place finishes.

Junior captain Nana Hanson-Hall led the women with her first-place finish in the 500-meter run and a leg on the winning 4x400m relay. Hanson-Hall earned a Big East and ECAC-qualifying mark with her time of 1:14.55 in the 500 while teaming with junior Kandance Ferguson, senior Meghan O’Neil and sophomore Ashley Hubbard for a conference- and regional-qualifying time of 3:50.52 in the relay.

“Nana ran a great race. She ran a [personal record] and is the fastest time in the Big East right now,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Ron Helmer said.

Freshman Avril Ogrodnick scored a victory for Georgetown in the 1000m run with a fast time of 2:52.86, a new Quebec junior record. She also earned Big East and ECAC qualifying marks. Twin sister Lise Ogrodnick notched a victory in the mile with a time of 5:01.18.

Junior Ashley Mondie earned both a Big East and ECAC qualifier mark with her second- place finish, and she made a personal indoor best jump of 12.21 meters in the triple jump.

Other wins were turned in by junior Nicole Torpey in the 400m dash with a time of 60.09 seconds and Ashley Hubbard in the 800m run, crossing the line in 2:18.47.

Buky Bambigoye began an impressive freshman campaign as she garnered two second-place finishes and one third-place finish. An 18-foot-3 leap in the long jump highlighted her performance.

“All these wins show that we did what we were supposed to over the break, and the team has set themselves up where they will be a bigger force in the Big East this year,” Helmer said.

On the men’s side, freshman sprinter Kenny Mitchell turned heads once again as he sped to the third-fastest time in Georgetown history in the 60m dash. He clocked 6.89 seconds to win the event and qualify for the Big East Championships and the IC4A Championships. Mitchell joined with seniors Chris Bonner, Jared Jenkins and Stanley Lagrenade to win the 4x400m relay in 3:21.81.

Bonner scored a victory for the Hoyas with a fast win in the 500m dash in 1:04.17. The race gave Bonner both Big East and IC4A-qualifying marks.

Freshman Terrell Gissendanner earned a pair of second-place finishes as he leapt to 6.65m in the long jump and 14.20m in the triple jump.

Sophomore Shane Young turned in a winning performance for the Hoyas with a first-place finish in the 3000m run in a time of 8:27.25, also a Big East and IC4A qualifier.

Other wins were turned in by freshman Ricky Barrios in the 1000m run and sophomore Justin Scheid in the mile.

“With the new Duke Ellington track, we’ve been able to get in great workouts,” Helmer said. “Both the team and coaches have better morale and can concentrate on what we’re supposed to be doing.”

The new track, which opened in December, is located at 38th Street and Reservoir Road.

The team is set to compete next week at the Virginia Tech Invitational.