Following the success of its cross country season campaigns, the Georgetown track and field team returned to the Hilltop with sparkling season debut races for many Hoyas. Competing in the U.S. Coaches Association Indoor Meet held on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Penn State University in State College, Pa., the women’s and men’s teams each garnered fourth-place finishes.

The women were led by senior Monica Hargrove, who won the 500m by more than two seconds in a time of 1:13.16. Also scoring for Georgetown in the race were freshmen Jayne Penn and Nana Hanson-Hall who finished in 1:15.36 and 1:15.48, respectively, capturing the third and fourth spots in the race. All three athletes made Big East Championship cuts with their times.

“I didn’t know what to expect before the race, but then I just stepped on the track and it happened kind of quick, it was overwhelmingly exciting,” Hanson-Hall said.

Three more Hoyas added silver-medal performances in other events. Senior distance runner Treniere Clement turned in a second-place performance in the mile with her time of 4:56.47, while junior Colleen Kelly clocked 9:38.83 in the 3,000m. Junior aura McCusker earned runner-up honors in the 800m, breaking the tape at 2:12.40, only .06 seconds behind Penn State’s Briene Simmons. In the same race, sophomore Meghan O’Neil crossed the line in fifth place with a time of 2:15.20. Junior Kelly Ostott turned in a third-place finish in the 1,000m run with her time of 2:53.48.

The fine performances continued as Hoyas competed in the relays. Georgetown recorded two runner-up finishes and a third place finish. The distance medley relay squad of Clement, freshman Ashley ondie, McCusker and sophomore Kim Malcolm combined for a second-place finish in 11:57.97. The 3,200m relay of senior Jill Laurendeau, Hanson-Hall and sophomore Sabine Knothe combined for a second place earning team time of 9:08.92, finishing a half second behind the winning Villanova squad. In the final relay of the meet O’Neil, freshman Kandace Ferguson, Hargrove and freshman Nicole Torpey came together to garner a third place finish in the 4X400m relay in 3:50.03.

Penn State won the meet by a large margin with 181.5 points while Cornell and Villanova following with 97.5 and 80 points respectively. Georgetown, just missing third place, finished with 79.5 points.

On the men’s side, the Georgetown squad pulled together many top-five finishes for fourth place overall with 64 points. Penn State took home the victory with 102 points, while Cornell came in with 94.5 points and Rutgers with 81.

The team was led by senior Jesse O’Connell who won the 1,000m run in 2:22.02, more than two seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. In the same race, fellow Hoya freshman Matt Debole garnered a fourth place in his indoor debut, finishing in 2:26.77. Senior Dan Tebbano earned runner-up honors in the 3,000m with his time of 8:17.15. Tebbano came back later to run the leadoff leg of the winning 3,200m relay with junior Nat Glackin, junior Tommy anning and Debole, clocking in at 7:38.05. Georgetown’s 1,600m relay, made up of senior Ezra Richards, O’Connell, senior James Graham and sophomore Chris Bonner, combined to run 3:12.88 and capture a second relay win. Richards would return to place second in the 800m with a time of 1:50.82. Graham placed third in the 500m with a time of 1:02.63.

Georgetown’s performances were especially impressive because not all members of the squad competed in the meet.

“Because it is so early in the season, we use these beginning meets as practice for some whom, because of our lack of facilities, get a chance to train on a real track,” Director of Track and Field Pat Helmer said. Many of the other distance runners on the team that competed in the National Cross Country Championship were given an extra week to prepare for the indoor season.

Such fast times this early in the season serve as hopeful indicators for a successful indoor season, according to Helmer.

“We already know what pieces we have here, now we just have to see how these pieces are going to fit together later in the season,” he said.