The Georgetown men’s and No. 8 women’s indoor track and field teams divided their athletes between the Boston University Scarlet and White Invitational, the Villanova Invitational at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island and the USA Track and Field Junior Cross Country Championships (USATF) in Bend, Ore. last weekend. Both squads saw multiple athletes break personal records at each meet.

At the BU Scarlet and White Invitational, the men’s indoor team saw four of its runners clock a sub-four minute time in the invitational mile. Senior Ahmed Bile captured first place in the event, finishing with a time of 3:57.84. This was Bile’s fourth sub-four minute mile in his career. Graduate student Cole Williams, junior Amos Bartelsmeyer, and senior Michael Lederhouse followed Bile’s lead, snagging second, third and fourth places, respectively. Williams recorded a time of 3:57.88, Bartelsmeyer set a personal record with a time of 3:58.22 and Lederhouse clocked in at 3:58.42, another personal record.

Bile was pleased with his level of performance after the meet.

“It just showed consistency,” Bile said. “The NCAAs are getting faster every year. You might need to run a 3:57 just to qualify for the meet. Last year I was the last one to make the meet with a time of 3:58.5. So definitely breaking that was important, but also that it will definitely make the NCAA meet. I was excited about that.”

Freshman Spencer Brown led all Hoyas in the men’s invitational 800-meter race. Brown claimed second place overall with a personal record of 1:50.24. Sophomore Charles Cooper and senior Andrew Ogle finished fifth and sixth with times of 1:51.47 and 1:51.69, respectively; both set personal records. Sophomore Christian Alvarado shaved about two seconds off of his previous personal record in the men’s 1000m race, running a time of 2:27.43.

Bile said that the Hoyas have displayed mental grit and determination thus far.

“I think it is definitely the mental aspect. The team is very confident. We know that we can do it, and we know we can do it consistently. So overall, the confidence of the team is a lot higher. We expect more from ourselves,” Bile said.

The No. 8 Georgetown women’s squad, led by junior Sabrina Southerland, continued its impressive season in Staten Island at the Villanova Invitation at Ocean Breeze. Southerland broke the Georgetown women’s 800m record, previously set by herself last February, with a time of 2:03.10. Southerland claimed first place in the race while recording the best time for the 800m in the country at the moment. Junior Emma Keenan followed Southerland’s lead with a time of 2:05.06 for third place in the event.
Southerland said she believes that a change in mental attitude has helped her this season.

“I don’t know. I just got tired of losing,” Southerland said. “So I’m just trying not to lose as much.”

The Hoyas also had a strong outing in the women’s invitational mile. Sophomore Kennedy Weisner finished with a personal record in sixth place with a time of 4:44.36, while sophomore Autumn Eastman also ran a personal record, finishing in seventh place in 4:47.12. Sophomore Aleta Looker followed her fellow classmates, crossing the finish line with a time of 4:55.73, another personal record. Senior Samantha Nadel continued her impressive indoor season thus far with a performance that put her in fifth place overall in 4:44.01, while senior Heather Martin claimed eighth in 4:49.49.

In addition to the two meets, three Hoyas traveled across the country to Bend, Ore. to compete in USATF. Freshman Reilly Bloomer secured fourth place overall. Bloomer’s performance qualified her to represent Team USA in the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association Cross Country Championships in Venezuela. Freshman Nick Wareham claimed sixth place while freshman Adam Barnard took eighth place.

Director of Track and Field and Cross-Country Michael Smith praised the trio of freshmen for their performances.

“When you are a high school senior and you choose to come to a really competitive program, you can be doing a great job as a freshman and really making progress, but that national level is so far away,” Smith said. “So what we try to do is create these intermediate goals that people can shoot for and shows them down the right path. For those guys, 19 years old, to make the team and race people their own age in the college level and compete gives them a chance to capture what we are about as a program when that national level is so far away.”

The Hoyas will travel to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic and Geneva, Ohio for the Spire Invitational on Feb. 12-13.