The Georgetown University men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams combined for first-place finishes in five different events at the Big East Championships. Both teams placed fifth overall.

Delegations from each of the Big East’s 11 member universities descended on Chicago’s Gately Track and Field Facility for the Feb. 25 and 26 meet. It was the first indoor track and field championship for the league since early March 2020, with last season’s contest a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the majority of the first day consisted of preliminary races, the Georgetown men shone in the day’s finales: the 5,000 meter finals and the distance medley relay. In the former event, graduate student Matthew Young shattered the previous men’s Big East record by over two and a half seconds, clocking a stellar time of 13:48.80. 

He was the first of six Hoyas to surpass previous all-time league marks over the weekend. Still, his remarkable performance was good only for fourth place, with the rest of the field failing to match the 13:43.04 time recorded by Butler’s Simon Bedard.

Later in the afternoon, Georgetown first-year Lucas Guerra, sophomore Jabril El-Amin, graduate student Scott Johnson and junior Camden Gilmore secured a second-place finish in the men’s distance medley. The Hoyas led for the first two legs but relinquished their position during the 800 meter portion, eventually finding themselves unable to catch a team of opportunistic UConn Huskies.

Georgetown’s valiant efforts in the day’s field events were highlighted by first-year Chloe Williams, who turned in a personal-best 5.77 meter long jump to finish in third place. By the end of the day, 28 of 40 Hoyas on Director of Track and Field Alton McKenzie’s squad had qualified for Saturday’s finals.

The wait for more flashes of brilliance from the Georgetown side was not a long one. In the men’s mile final, Villanova’s Charlie O’ Donovan appeared poised for a podium finish until a ferocious surge from Georgetown junior Parker Stokes catapulted him into first place. 

The Hoyas went on to sweep the podium for the event, with Stokes joined by junior Matthew Rizzo and graduate student Jack Salisbury occupying second and third place, respectively. Together with O’Donovan, the trio became the first runners in conference history to break the four minute barrier.

It was just the beginning of phenomenal days for Stokes and Rizzo, who teamed up with junior Tim McInerney and sophomore Abel Teffra to clinch a Georgetown victory in the 4×800 meter relay and break another Big East record in the process. 

Stokes was later named the championship’s Men’s Most Outstanding Performer in Track Events, the first Hoya since Johnathan Green in 2018 to accomplish that feat.

Elsewhere, sophomore Joshua Paige caught fire to claim first place in the men’s 200 meter dash with a personal best time of 21.19 seconds. Although finishing in fifth place, a mere eight points separated the Hoya men from runner-up DePaul.

In the women’s competition, senior Sami Corman outpaced Villanova’s Lydia Olivere by 0.52 seconds to lift the Hoyas to victory in the 3,000 meters run. That momentum carried over to the 4×800, where Georgetown prevailed behind a combined effort from senior Rachel Sessa, graduate student Kiera Bothwell, sophomore Sierra Dinneen and first-year Melissa Riggins. 

Their victory continued the trend of Hoya dominance in that event, with Georgetown achieving a first-place finish in each conference championship since 2019.

The program’s bright future was on display in the 800 meter run, where first-year Melissa Riggins turned in a career-best 2:07.11 to finish in second place. Just missing the podium was Dinneen, whose 2:09.82 performance would have placed first at the 2020 championships.

Senior Eni Akinniyi added a third place result in the triple jump, making her and Williams the only Hoyas to clinch top-three finishes in the field. The women’s program would eventually earn 66 points at the meet en route to a fifth place finish, a slim nine points behind St. John’s.

There will not be much of a spring break for the Georgetown program, which returns to the track at the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Boston on March 5 and 6.

Delegations from each of the Big East’s 11 member universities descended on Chicago’s Gately Track and Field Facility for the Feb. 25 and 26 meet. It was the first indoor track and field championship for the league since early March 2020, with last season’s contest a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the majority of the first day consisted of preliminary races, the Georgetown men shone in the day’s finales: the 5,000 meter finals and the distance medley relay. In the former event, graduate student Matthew Young shattered the previous men’s Big East record by over two and a half seconds, clocking a stellar time of 13:48.80. 

He was the first of six Hoyas to surpass previous all-time league marks over the weekend. Still, his remarkable performance was good only for fourth place, with the rest of the field failing to match the 13:43.04 time recorded by Butler’s Simon Bedard.

Later in the afternoon, Georgetown first-year Lucas Guerra, sophomore Jabril El-Amin, graduate student Scott Johnson and junior Camden Gilmore secured a second-place finish in the men’s distance medley. The Hoyas led for the first two legs but relinquished their position during the 800 meter portion, eventually finding themselves unable to catch a team of opportunistic UConn Huskies.

Georgetown’s valiant efforts in the day’s field events were highlighted by first-year Chloe Williams, who turned in a personal-best 5.77 meter long jump to finish in third place. By the end of the day, 28 of 40 Hoyas on Director of Track and Field Alton McKenzie’s squad had qualified for Saturday’s finals.

The wait for more flashes of brilliance from the Georgetown side was not a long one. In the men’s mile final, Villanova’s Charlie O’ Donovan appeared poised for a podium finish until a ferocious surge from Georgetown junior Parker Stokes catapulted him into first place. 

The Hoyas went on to sweep the podium for the event, with Stokes joined by junior Matthew Rizzo and graduate student Jack Salisbury occupying second and third place, respectively. Together with O’Donovan, the trio became the first runners in conference history to break the four minute barrier.

It was just the beginning of phenomenal days for Stokes and Rizzo, who teamed up with junior Tim McInerney and sophomore Abel Teffra to clinch a Georgetown victory in the 4×800 meter relay and break another Big East record in the process. 

Stokes was later named the championship’s Men’s Most Outstanding Performer in Track Events, the first Hoya since Johnathan Green in 2018 to accomplish that feat.

Elsewhere, sophomore Joshua Paige caught fire to claim first place in the men’s 200 meter dash with a personal best time of 21.19 seconds. Although finishing in fifth place, a mere eight points separated the Hoya men from runner-up DePaul.

In the women’s competition, senior Sami Corman outpaced Villanova’s Lydia Olivere by 0.52 seconds to lift the Hoyas to victory in the 3,000 meters run. That momentum carried over to the 4×800, where Georgetown prevailed behind a combined effort from senior Rachel Sessa, graduate student Kiera Bothwell, sophomore Sierra Dinneen and first-year Melissa Riggins. 

Their victory continued the trend of Hoya dominance in that event, with Georgetown achieving a first-place finish in each conference championship since 2019.

The program’s bright future was on display in the 800 meter run, where first-year Melissa Riggins turned in a career-best 2:07.11 to finish in second place. Just missing the podium was Dinneen, whose 2:09.82 performance would have placed first at the 2020 championships.

Senior Eni Akinniyi added a third place result in the triple jump, making her and Williams the only Hoyas to clinch top-three finishes in the field. The women’s program would eventually earn 66 points at the meet en route to a fifth place finish, a slim nine points behind St. John’s.

There will not be much of a spring break for the Georgetown program, which returns to the track at the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Boston on March 5 and 6.