This past weekend, the Georgetown University track and field program competed at two meets on opposite ends of the country: the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. and the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. The participating Hoyas represented the men’s and women’s middle distance teams well, as both squads registered yet another set of impressive performances at a pivotal point in the season ahead of the Big East Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
On April 13, the Hoyas kicked off their weekend with the women’s and men’s 1500-meter hosted at Azusa Pacific University. The competition was certain to be stiff, as the pool included athletes from universities across the country, as well as a number of professional athletes. Nevertheless, Georgetown did not back down from the challenge.
On the women’s side, junior and standout middle distance runner Melissa Riggins finished in 4:07.96, an incredible performance that saw her place third overall. This topped her previous personal best in the 1500 from last season’s Bryan Clay Invitational by just over two seconds. Notably, the two-time All-American also recorded the fastest time of all collegiate athletes who participated in the event, edging out Washington University’s Chloe Foerster by a mere four one-thousandths of a second, which made for a spectacular finish.
Senior distance runner Chloe Gonzalez also recorded a solid performance, finishing 68th overall out of nearly 200 athletes in a time of 4:20.11. This was just a few seconds short of Gonzalez’s personal best, which she recorded at this same competition last season.
Georgetown men also finished near the top of their respective heats. Senior middle distance star Abel Teffra recorded a time of 3:38.25, placing him in ninth overall and second in his heat. This result was yet another personal best for the Hoyas, as Teffra smashed his previous record by two seconds. In addition, graduate distance runner Camden Gilmore put together a strong performance, with a run of 3:40.18 to finish 20th out of around 150 participating athletes.
The Hoyas continued their busy weekend with the men’s 800-meter and 4×400-meter relay at the University of Florida. This meet featured some of the best collegiate track and field athletes, as well as a number of established track stars, including reigning 100-meter and 200-meter world champion Noah Lyles and three-time 110-meter hurdles world champion Grant Holloway.
Georgetown was represented by a strong cohort of athletes, all of whom had impressive outings.
Leading the men was first-year middle distance standout Tinoda Matsatsa, fresh off a second-team All-American designation for the winter season. He registered another incredible performance, finishing in fourth overall in 1:47.14 in the 800. Matsatsa’s time currently ranks eighth in the nation and is the best finish by a Hoya in the event in the last seven years.
Graduate middle distance runner Tim McInerney, who was a member of the Georgetown men’s distance medley relay (DMR) squad awarded with first-team All-American honors last month, set a new personal best in the event, as his time of 1:48.65 was a fraction of a second faster than his previous top time. McInerney finished in 14th place overall.
First-year middle distance athlete Gabriele Angiono, in his second-ever collegiate meet, was also impressive, finishing in 21st place in a time of 1:49.18. In addition, fellow first-year middle distance runner Ryan Mulrooney placed 30th with a personal best time of 1:50.09.
The team concluded the evening with a 3:19.04 run in the 4×400, good enough to earn them 30th place overall.
Georgetown will send athletes to compete in the Wake Forest Invitational and Virginia Challenge on April 19 and 20. The Hoyas will look to improve upon their impressive season in advance of the Big East Outdoor Championships in May and the NCAA Outdoor Championships in early June.
