Director of Track and Field Ron Helmer is reluctant to classify Georgetown as a “middle-distance school,” but after the Hoyas’ performance at last weekend’s Virginia Tech Invitational, it would be hard to argue otherwise.

The men and women both won their distance medley and 4×800-meter relays, and they dominated individual scoring in the middle- and long-distance events.

Both of Georgetown’s men’s teams finished first and second in the distance medley, edging out third-place Virginia Intermont College. Despite leading for most of the race, the men’s B team did not finish the 4x800m because the anchor was sore and the team preferred not to risk injury, Helmer said.

For the women, junior Ashley Hubbard won the 500m dash with a time of 1:13.82, a personal record, and senior Nana Hanson-Hall took first in the 800m at 2:13.66. Sophomore Avril Ogrodnick finished second to Hanson-Hall in the 800m. Earlier in the event, Hubbard finished seventh in the 400m dash.

The Hoya women posted second-place finishes from sophomore Lise Ogrodnick in the mile, freshman Renee Tomlin in the 1,000m and graduate student Hillary Bontz in the 3,000m. In the 3,000m, freshman Marcie Sobrinski and sophomore Kailin Collins closely trailed Bontz, placing third and fourth. Junior Joanna Rodgers and freshmen Amanda Walsh and Kelsey Malmquist finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 5,000m, although the time gap between Rodgers and the two freshmen was around a minute.

For the men, graduate student Stanley Lagrenade took third in the 500m dash, finishing within 0.01 seconds of both second-place Andrew Peresta of Hampton College and fourth-place Keith Hinnant of South Carolina.

In the mile, Georgetown’s three runners all finished within one half-second of each other. Senior Brian Dalpiaz led the group, placing second with a time of 4:16.20. Freshman Sandy Roberts took third place 0.35 seconds later, followed by junior Donnie Cowart of the Virginia Military Institute in fourth and Georgetown freshman Dan Gerber in fifth.

The men produced similarly tight three-man splits in the 1,000m and 3,000m. Junior Michael Banks, sophomore Levi Miller and freshman Kevin Hill finished within three seconds of each other in the 1,000m, taking second, fifth and 12th place, respectively. In the 3,000m, juniors Justin Scheid and Dan Nunn and senior Andre Laboy finished sixth, seventh and eighth at 8:17.32, 8:26.50 and 8:28.26, respectively. Sophomore Alex Mason came in six seconds later for 12th place.

Freshman Alex Bean ran a strong third in the 800m, just over a second behind winner Elkana Chepsiror of Virginia Intermont College. Last year, Bean was fifth in the 800m at the New York State Division 1 Championships. Senior Rasheed Thompson finished seventh in the event at 1:54.42.

Bean and Sobrinski were the top freshmen finishers, each finishing in third place.

“[They] represent what can be a very strong freshman class,” Helmer said. “It remains to be seen at what pace they will progress and at what level they will be able to contribute as freshmen. The bigger question is how good they will be in four years. I am optimistic.”

Dominance in the middle- and long-distance events overshadowed a notable absence from the top finishers in the sprint and field events.

Sophomore Kenny Mitchell ran strong in the semifinals in the 55m dash, but missed the cut to advance to the finals by 0.04 seconds. He returned in the 300m dash to take seventh. In the semifinals of the 55m hurdles, sophomore Terrell Gissendanner finished 11th of 14, missing the cut to advance by 0.04 seconds . Senior Kevin Ward was the only other Georgetown competitor in men’s sprints and ran 27th and 22nd place in the 300m and 400m races, respectively.

For the women, freshman Abigail Johnson did not advance beyond the preliminary round of the 55m dash but took 20th in the 300m dash. Senior Nichole Torpey placed 16th in the 200m dash and 17th in the 300m.

On the field, Gissendanner finished 15th in the long jump and 12th in the triple jump while senior Ashley Mondie leapt 11.7m in the women’s triple jump, good enough for eighth place in the event and Georgetown’s best field performance of the day. In the long jump, Mondie leapt 5.52m for 17th place – well behind winner Pat Spring of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who jumped 6.11m.

Helmer said he was pleased with the team’s performances and added that the first weeks after the winter holiday usually “test” athletes’ capabilities. While many athletes continue to train over the holiday, training at home does not compare to training on campus, he said, and some have a hard time returning.

This weekend, the Hoyas compete at the Penn State Open at State College, Penn. Helmer said he expects to send a relatively small delegation to the event, as the majority of the team is still training.