Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Track and Field | Summer Meets Prepare Team

The Georgetown track and field team’s campaign still had plenty to go, even after the academic year ended in May. The team took advantage of late-season opportunities to add a series of accomplishments and accolades to its season, capping off a successful run through the Big East with individual successes in the NCAA regional preliminary meets, along with winning representation at the NCAA championship in Eugene, Ore., and on the world stage.

The Hoyas entered 29 students into the NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla., which ran from May 29-31. The total was a new high for the program.

“I’d say we exceeded expectations,” Assistant Coach Mike Smith said. “Everyone we wanted to get qualified for that regional meet we got qualified, and the NCAAs first round were a huge goal for us.”

The Hoyas qualified for eight different races in Florida, highlighted by 14 athletes in the middle-distance races across both squads.

“We had four athletes coming into the regional 800, which is more than any team in the U.S., and that’s a huge thing for us we got two of them through to the national meet,” Smith said of the women’s side. “I think we could’ve gotten one more, then-freshman Sabrina Southerland was on her way qualifying and she fell, but she was going to get in. So we were really close to getting three [into] the 800, and that’s an event that we’re known for at Georgetown.”

Ultimately, the Blue and Gray sent six runners to the NCAA championships, held June 11 to 14 at Hayward Field, home of the Oregon Ducks and one of the premiere track facilities in the U.S. Graduated senior Chelsea Cox and then-junior Andrea Keklak both qualified at the 800-meter distance, while then-junior Max Darrah and graduated senior Dylan Sorrensen qualified for the 3000m steeplechase. Graduated seniors Rachel Schneider and Andrew Springer qualified for the 1500m and 10,000m races.

Darrah said that team’s accomplishments exceeded even its own expectations.

“[When] we all came into regionals, it wasn’t that we were really hoping to make it to nationals, we were almost expecting to make it to nationals,” Darrah said. “We had seen some of the workouts that we had done earlier in the season and they were all indicative of very fast times and this ability to compete with the best.”

Darrah and Sorrensen ran in the same heat at both preliminary and national races, and would finish seventh and ninth, respectively, in their heat, outside of the top-five finish required for advancement to the finals. After returning from injury in the fall and an extended illness in the spring, Darrah was grateful of what he had accomplished, but not completely satisfied.

“I was really hoping to make it to the final and ultimately be a first team All-American, do better than I was two years ago [where] I made it to the final and placed 11th overall,” Darrah said. “So I was pretty disappointed in the race but it was a good effort considering where I came from at the beginning of the year and all the progress I had made up to that point.”

Schneider finished 13th overall in the 10,000m race, while Keklak and Cox both ran in the 800m but were unable to advance, with times of 2:07.72 and 2:16.69, respectively.

Rachel Schneider was the sole Hoya to reach the final heat. She grabbed the seventh and final spot in the 1500m finals heat with a time of 4:18.37. However, she would fall off her pace slightly in the finals, finishing ninth overall with a time 4:21.15. Though the Hoyas failed to grab any major awards at the tournament, their presence at the NCAA championships had value.

“Being at the NCAA meet is a huge honor,” Smith said. “I think our NCAA meet was okay, it’s so difficult to even qualify for that, so I would say that our NCAA performance could have been better but our main goal was just being there.”

The Blue and Gray earned a variety of other accolades outside of their participation in the NCAA postseason. Six Hoyas received All-American honors, and two qualified to participate in the United States Track and Field Junior World Championships. Then-freshmen Jonathan Green and Sabrina Southerland ran standout championships at the event, also held in Eugene, in late July. Green won the 10,000m race and Southerland placed second in the 800m, earning both spots on the USA roster at the IAAF Junior World Championships. Green finished 23rd at the event, while Southerland was able to advance.

“At the Worlds meet [Southerland] made it to the second round, that was exciting for us as well, she was honored to represent our country,” Smith said.

The team’s performances over the summer proved that the men’s and women’s rosters had the talent and muscle to run successfully on the national stage. This has left some hopeful for continued improvement in the near future.

“We want to be one of the best track teams in the country,” Darrah said. “We want people to know that we’re not going to settle for second best anymore, we want to be the people being hunted because we know we’re capable of being the best.”

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