The Georgetown track and field team is steadily climbing the rankings and will have a chance to solidify its status as one of the nation’s best Saturday at the 2005 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.
At the start of the season, Georgetown was ranked 12th by the ondo men’s NCAA cross country poll. The Hoyas have since moved up to ninth, and they currently stand at seventh. The team enters this weekend’s championship race with a chance to improve its ranking even more.
“We’ve got to put things together properly and work on racing tactics and strategy,” Assistant Coach Pat Henner said.
At the 2004 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, the Hoyas turned heads as the men’s team captured the team title while the women’s garnered fourth place. Of last year’s top five scorers, the men’s team returns only senior captain Fleet Hower, yet the new squad appears close in form to last year’s winning squad. The team is led by junior Matt Debole, who has been the Hoyas’ first or second finisher in every meet this season so far.
“Both Matt and Fleet ran incredible times at the Big East meet,” Henner said. “Matt ran the second-best time in Georgetown history on that course and Fleet ran the fifth-fastest.”
Other than Debole and Hower, the Hoyas are represented by a solid squad of runners who will comprise the top seven. Sophomore Dan Nunn has been a consistent scorer, recently finishing third on the team at the 2005 Big East championships.
Fifth-year seniors Charles Millioen and Tommy Manning have also been key competitors for the team this season and will play vital roles at this championship meet. Senior Chris Esselborn, who sat out most of the season injured, was a key scorer last year and is returning to race at Regionals. Other top runners include juniors Andre Laboy, Brian Dalpiaz and Rasheed Thompson, as well as freshman Mike Kirsch.
The Hoyas competed at the Cavalier Open this past weekend in Earlysville, Va. They were led by freshman Alex Mason, the top collegiate finisher who came in second overall with a time of 25:25 for the 8-km race. Other Hoyas in the race include sophomores Shane Young, Brandon Bonsey and Scott Bastek.
The men’s team is currently the top-ranked team in the region and enters the meet as a favorite. American, its closest regional competitor, sits behind at 27th in the nation.
The women’s team is currently ranked 27th in the nation on the FinishLynx NCAA cross country poll. The team is led by junior Elizabeth Maloy, a top finisher in every meet for the Hoyas this season. Close behind is sophomore Maggie Infeld, who has been the Hoyas’ first or second finisher in every meet this season.
“I feel that we are ready to run our best cross country meet of the season,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Ron Helmer said. “We’re pretty close to 100 percent, and the girls have a good mindset.”
Junior Erin Henry has been a model of consistency during her cross country campaign, as she is a regular scorer for the squad. She is followed by a pack of talented freshmen, including Kailin Collins and twin sisters Lise and Avril Ogrodnick. Juniors Joanna Rodgers and Nana Hanson-Hall and senior Kim Malcolm have shown steady improvement. The women return two of their five scorers from last year’s fourth-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals.
“Obviously our goal is the finish in the top two spots so that we can go to the national meet,” Helmer said.
Teams that finish in the top two spots at the regional meet gain an automatic bid for the NCAA Championships, to be held in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 21 The Hoyas’ main competition includes No. 14 Princeton and Villanova, who beat the Hoyas at the pre-NCAA meet three weeks ago.
