A freshman led the women’s team while a senior carried the men’s squad, but whether its strength was the young or the old, both of the Hoyas’ outdoor track and field squads finished in the top eight in last weekend’s Big East league championship in Storrs, Conn.

For the women, Georgetown’s championship season began with a seventh place performance behind freshman Buky Bamigboye’s win in the heptathlon. The Hoya men finished eighth, thanks in large part to a strong showing by senior Rod Koborsi.

Pittsburgh won the women’s title with 117 points, while Notre Dame garnered the men’s championship with 132 points.

For Georgetown the highlight of the meet came courtesy of Bamigboye. The freshman phenomenon won the heptathlon with a personal best of 5410 points. She set a new Big East record and broke her own Georgetown school record that she set in April at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa.

Bamigboye also became the first female Hoya to win a multi-event at a Big East championship. For her performance, she was named the meets co-Most Outstanding Field Performer. Syracuse senior Johvanne Hernandez, winner of the shot put, shared the award.

“Buky’s performance was really extraordinary,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Ron Helmer said. “She [registered a personal record] in five of seven events and her score is about 12th best in the country right now.”

Junior Kandance Ferguson also raced well for the women as she ran to a second place finish in the 400-meter dash, recording a personal record and a regional-qualifying mark with a time of 53.73.

Ferguson returned to run a leg on the 4×400 relay team that captured fourth place with a season best time of 3:40.54.

In the steeplechase, freshman Lise Ogrodnick and senior Erin Henry recorded points for the Hoyas as they finish fifth and seventh in times of 10:49.38 and 10:51.77, respectively. The women also picked up points in the 10,000m race where freshman Natasha Labeaud cross the line in fourth place with a time of 35:30.85 and sophomore Jennie Funk placed eighth in 36:42.85

Juniors Nana Hanson-Hall and Liz Maloy both earned fourth place finishes in their respective events. After running the second-fastest qualifying time of 2:06.53 in the 800m trials, Hanson-Hall cross the line in fourth place in the final in a time of 2:08.34. Maloy finished the 1500m race in a personal best time of 4:26.77.

“Nana ran faster than she had to in the trials, but the weather was good and now we have a fast time for her,” Helmer said. “Her time right now is 11th in the country.”

The Hoya women’s squad also put together a strong 4×800 relay that captured second place in a time of 8:46.83.

Highlighting the men’s squad was Georgetown’s only other individual victory. Koborsi captured the 10,000m title in a time of 30:11:48 to lead the way for Georgetown. It was his third outdoor league title at 10,000m.

“I was very pleased with his race, he was feeling sick and came out there to race,” Assistant Coach Pat Henner said. “It’s really a testament to his toughness and how aware he is at getting the job done for the team.”

Behind Koborsi for the Hoyas was senior Steven Meinelt, who finished sixth in the same race in 31:02.57.

Freshman Terrell Gissendanner continued a strong inaugural campaign as he posted personal bests in the 110m hurdles and the triple jump. He captured second place in the hurdles with a time of 14.31, just short of the regional-qualifying mark of 14.30. He came back to finish sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet 2.25 inches.

“I was really happy with [Gissendanner’s] second place and his PR of 14.31, but I was even happier that he competed extremely well,” Helmer said.

The women were not the only Hoyas to claim points in the steeplechase. Junior Brian Dalpiaz recorded a regional-qualifying time of 9:06.44 to finish third in the 3000m race. Sophomore Shane Young finished eighth with a time of 9:12.75.

Senior Chris Bonner captured fourth place in the 400m dash in a time of 47.82. He also ran on the 4x400m relay along with senior Jarod Jenkins, freshman Kenny Mitchell and junior Kevin Ward.

The men also put together a 4×800 relay squad that finished in fifth place with a time of 7:36.16. Dapliaz, freshman Andrew Bumbalough, and sophomore Matt Debole and senior Stanley Lagrenade made up the legs of the relay. Lagrenade had the fastest 800m split of 1:49.9.

Mitchell sped to a 10.75 clocking in the 100m dash, good for sixth place.

Both squads return to action on May 12, when the men compete at the IC4A Championships in Princeton, N.J. and the women, also in Princeton, will be at the ECAC Championships.