Thirteen athletes competed for Georgetown University track and field in the NCAA East Regional meet May 27-30. The performances of juniors Barrett Justema and Tinoda Matsatsa, alongside sophomore Jaden Marchan, highlighted the meet, as they broke school records in the 3000-meter steeplechase, 800-meter and 400-meter events, respectively.
The trio qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore., along with graduate student Charlotte Tomkinson, running in the women’s 1500-meter.
The men’s team kicked off the meet splendidly for the Hoyas on Wednesday with their first-round performances, with Marchan breaking his own school record in the 400 and finishing second in his heat with a time of 45.68 to qualify for the quarterfinal two days later. Matsatsa advanced too, winning his heat in the 800m with a time of 1:47.02.
Senior Nicholas Givan qualified for the quarterfinals in the 400-meter hurdles by recording a new personal best of 50.00, the second-fastest time in program history. Graduate student Edwin Klanke also advanced to the quarterfinals in the 1500, running a 3:44.00.
Along with Matsatsa, graduate student Nicholas Medeiros ran in the 800, clocking a 1:49.86 in his heat, but failed to qualify for the next round. Junior Birhanu Harriman finished 15th in the 10,000-meter with a time of 29:17.83, missing the 12th-place qualification cutoff by just three spots, as his teammate, graduate MacCallum Rowe, finished 25th.
The women’s team raced the next day, led by Tomkinson’s personal-best 4:10.74 in the 1500, the fourth-fastest time in Georgetown history, which was good for fourth in her heat and qualification to the quarterfinals Saturday. Senior Mary Grave Hegberg and graduate Melissa Riggins also ran the 1500, placing 38th and 47th, respectively.
Givan ran a 50.33 on Friday in the 400 hurdles quarterfinals, placing him fifth in his heat, but it was not enough to keep his season alive. The same was true for Klanke, whose 3:42.46 in the 1500 put him 11th in his heat.
Matsatsa and Marchan, on the other hand, dominated their events. In the 400 quarterfinal, Marchan shattered his own school record again, running a 44.79 to finish third in his heat and fifth overall. Matsatsa also set a program record, running a 1:44.75 in the 800 quarterfinal to finish third both in his heat and overall. Both punched their tickets to the semifinals in two weeks.
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Alton McKenzie said Marchan’s competitive spirit contributed to his record-breaking performance.
“What a day to be a Hoya,” McKenzie said in a GU Athletics press release. “Jaden Marchan came into the meet as the 47th-fastest qualifier in the region. Two massive PBs later, he is heading to Eugene, having been part of one of the fastest 400m races ever run in NCAA history. That was all heart that can’t be coached; he’s as tough a competitor as anyone who has put on a Georgetown singlet. To say I’m proud of his performance would be an understatement.”
McKenzie said Matsatsa’s achievement over the weekend was commendable as well.
“It was also very satisfying to see Tinoda get under 1:45 and run a splendid personal best of 1:44.75,” McKenzie said in the GU Athletics press release.
The women’s team rounded out the action on Saturday in just as exciting a fashion. Graduate Almi Nerurkar placed 8th in her heat of the 5000-meter semifinal, not high enough to advance, but Tomkinson and Justema avenged her. Tomkinson’s 4:11.86 in the 1500 quarterfinal gained her fourth place in her heat and a ticket to Eugene for the second year in a row. Justema not only secured her place in nationals but broke a school record en route with her 9:51.28 finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase quarterfinal, the fastest ever by a Hoya.
When all was said and done, Georgetown walked out of the NCAA East Regionals with three new program records and four seats to nationals. The last Hoya to win an outdoor national championship was Parker Stokes, who won the 3000 steeplechase in 2024. Before Stokes’ triumph, no Hoya had reached those heights since the 1990s, when Georgetown won four individual outdoor national titles. Tomkinson, Justema, Marchan and Matsatsa will race in two weekends for a chance to make the 2020s another multi-championship decade for the Hoyas.
