The Georgetown track and field team will begin its indoor season today after a series of mid-December and early January tune-up meets at its own Hoya Invitational in Bethesda, Md. The women’s team will face LaSalle, Temple and Delaware State, while the men will compete only against LaSalle.

“I think it’s going to be a nice meet,” Georgetown Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Patrick Henner said. “I think both teams are ready to run really well.”

On the men’s side, Georgetown looks strong going into the indoor season, with a corps of experienced distance runners, a quickly developing sprint team and a promising jumps team. Considering last year’s Hoya Invitational results and the team’s current level of training, times good enough to qualify for the Big East Championships could be reached at this meet.

“Wherever we can this weekend, we’re going to try and get our Big East marks out of the way so that we don’t have to worry about them later on. … Right now, we want to compete well and place high, but the big thing in the next several weeks is to get our people qualified,” Henner said.

Distance running duties today will be taken on by seniors Dylan Sorensen and Andrew Springer, junior Michael Reher and redshirt freshman Ahmed Bile in the 1000 meters. Reher is in especially good shape, coming off a victory in the 1500m in mid-December at the Navy Indoor Invitational. Running the 3000m for Georgetown will be junior Brian King, sophomore Colin Leibold, and freshmen Michael Lederhouse and Darren Fahy. Fahy was a key performer in the fall cross-country season, placing as high as second on the team and earning praise as one of Georgetown’s most promising freshmen in years.

The Blue and Gray are also looking strong in the shorter races. Freshman Devante Washington and junior Hansel Akers will run the 300m, while junior Billy Ledder will compete in the 500m. Washington is another freshman who should turn some heads in the Big East this season: At the Jan. 5 George Mason Father Diamond Invitational, he posted a 6.89 in the 60m dash, which is currently the top time on the Big East seed list.

The sole field event participant for the Hoyas tomorrow will be junior Eghosa Aghayere in the long jump. Aghayere won this event last year, jumping 14.06 meters.

The women’s side appears similarly promising, especially due to an incredibly deep distance squad that won the Big East championship in the fall cross country season.

Looking to continue where they left off from that fall season, Hoya women’s distance will compete in a number of events. Perennial stars graduate student Andrea Keklak, junior Madeline Chambers and sophomore Katrina Coogan will compete in the 1000m, while senior Rachel Schneider, a two-time all-American in the 1500m, will run the mile. In the 3000m, the Hoya women will run sophomore standout Annamarie Maag along with senior Emily Jones.

In the sprint department, the Hoya women are looking to really break out. Senior 300m runner Amanda Kimbers and junior 500m runner Deseree King both have had standout training seasons.

“Amanda is going to open it up in the 300m, and I think that she has a shot at the school record there,” Henner said. “I think Deseree is also ready to run really well.”

This meet, despite boasting unintimidating competition, will be very beneficial if the Hoyas can qualify a large number of athletes for the indoor Big East championships through hitting required time or distance standards. Henner is confident that his teams are in great shape now, but he is also looking towards the outdoor season and the NCAA championships.

“We take pride in how well we do in the indoor Big East meet, but at the same time, we’re always keeping in the back of our minds that we have to make sure our athletes are peaking at the end of the outdoor season,” Henner said. “So it’s kind of a balancing act with the training. Yes, we want to be ready and do some good things, but we also don’t want to sell the farm for just a few weeks in the indoor season.”