The Georgetown track and field team wasted little time in continuing what has already proved to be a strong spring season, earning several NCAA regional-qualifying times and breaking two school records along the way at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C.
Freshman Lise Ogrodnick and senior Erin Henry highlighted the women’s action by earning NCAA regional times in the 3000-meter steeplechase. They finished in second and fourth places with respective times of 10:39.73 and 10:44.19. Ogrodnick’s performance broke the school record of 10:55.24, run by then sophomore Sarah Scholl (COL ’04) in 2002.
“Both girls ran under the previous school record, and it was a great run,” Ron Helmer, director of track & field and cross country said.
Senior Kim Malcolm finished ninth in the steeplechase with a personal best and Big East and ECAC qualifying time of 11:00.10.
Senior Chris Bonner scored the Hoyas’ third NCAA regional qualifier in the 800m race, running to a third-place finish in 1:48.72. He was the top finisher in the race and ran a personal best time.
“Chris is still training as a 400m runner who runs some [800-meter races], but ultimately on a national level, he’s going to have success at the higher distance,” Helmer said.
Junior Jayne Penn had one of the few Hoya wins of the meet. She claimed first place in the 400m dash in a personal best time of 56.85. The race qualifies Penn for both the Big East and ECAC championships.
“This was a solid time for Jayne,” Helmer said. “It looks as though she’s starting to take a step forward and hopefully run some fast times for us.”
Sophomore Alex Baptiste posted a double-qualifying weekend, running 57.02 in the 400m dash and leaping 38 feet 8.25 inches in the triple jump, both personal best performances.
Senior Steven Meinelt provided the only other win for the Hoyas with a 3:53.69 finish in the 1500m race, a Big East and IC4A qualifier.
A handful of Hoyas also qualified for the conference championships. Junior Ashley Mondie jumped to a seventh-place finish in the triple jump with a season-best jump of 40 feet 1.5 inches. She also leapt 17 feet 10 inches to qualify for the Big East championships in the long jump.
Freshman Buky Bamigboye also had two qualifying times, jumping 18 feet 1 inch in the long jump and soaring to a 5 foot 3 inch clearance in the high jump. Fellow freshman high jumper Claire Buckley cleared the same height to qualify for the Big East championships.
Senior Meghan O’Neill ran to a Big East time in the 800m race with a time of 2:11.24. Junior sprinter Kandance Ferguson extended her range, adding a Big East qualifier with a time of 2:12.91 in the 800m race.
On the men’s side, the Hoyas had five other IC4A qualifiers. Freshman Khyle Osbourne finished third in the shotput with a season best throw of 52 feet 9.5 inches.
Junior Matt Debole scored a IC4A and Big East qualifying mark in the 1500m race with a time of 3:48.07 as he finished fourth in the event.
Freshman Alex Mason and sophomore Shane Young finished fourth and seventh in the 3000-meter steeplechase race with times of 9:10.08 and 9:13.20. The NCAA regional-qualifying mark was close at 9:07.00.
Freshman Terrell Gissendanner scored a double qualifying weekend as he ran to a fifth-place finish (second among collegians) in the 110m hurdles with a season-best and school record time of 14.44 seconds. He was close to the NCAA regional time of 14.30.
Gissendanner’s mark approaches one of Georgetown’s oldest school records, a 14.2 second (hand-timed) run by Bill itchell in 1949.
He added another Big East and IC4A mark in the triple jump by finishing seventh with a leap of 46 feet 8.75 inches.
“We have a group of 30 going to California to compete at either the Mount San Antonio College relays or Long Beach Invitational,” Helmer said. “We’re looking to run some fast times and hopefully return with eight to 10 new Regional qualifiers.”
