While no team scores were being tallied this past weekend at the Penn State National Invitational, freshman Ryan Carter and junior Kenny Mitchell easily found other means to elevate their performances to the next level. itchell came into the meet as the seasoned upperclassman sprinter, the school record holder in the 60-meter. Carter was the talented short-sprints freshman, bolstering an area that had recently been a weak point of the Hoyas. Both suited up in the primaries of the 60-meter, but as the times came in, it was Carter who was the one being talked about, posting a time of 6.79 seconds that bested Mitchell’s school record by .01 seconds. Yet that mark would only stand for about an hour, as Mitchell roared back in the semifinals posting a NCAA provisional time of 6.74 seconds. When it was all said and done, the school record had been broken twice, Mitchell placed fifth in the finals, and both he and Carter sat 1-2 atop with the best times in 60-meter for the Big East this year. “That’s what you’re always looking for . a really good freshman to come in, and then you’re looking to your upperclassmen to react to the challenge in a positive manner, and that’s what Mitchell did. Kenny took it up a notch,” Head Coach Pat Henner said. The showdown of the 60-meter may not be the only event to watch out for as the indoor postseason approaches, for freshman Chris Kinney bested junior Terrell Gissendanner in the semifinal of the 60-meter hurdles, recording the second-fastest time in school history. The Hoyas can only hope that the competition stirred by Carter and Mitchell will flow over to the 60-meter hurdles as well, an area the Hoyas need to improve upon to score crucial points during the postseason. “What we’re looking for now in the hurdle . is [if] Terrell Gissendanner’s going to respond like Kenny Mitchell and step up to the game. That’s something we need him to do,” Henner said. The Hoyas made strides in the distance events as well, with a host of athletes posting impressive performances for this stage of the season. In the 1000 meter, junior Michael Banks proved that he is recovering from surgery earlier in the year that forced him to miss nearly four months of training. Banks executed the conservative, tactical race plan nicely, moving up in the field in the final 400-meter and closing hard for a second place that might have been a first with 10 more meters of track. oreover, senior Matt Debole turned in a couple of impressive performances in the Hoyas’ relay events, posting a 1:49.9 time for the 800 split to lead the team to first in the 4×800, and a 1:50.6 800 split in the distance medley to help lead the team to a runner-up finish. Also adding to the Blue and Gray’s success was junior Dan Nunn who took second in the 3000-meter, and freshman Toby Ulm, who also took second in the 500-meter. On the women’s side, the Hoyas’ distance squad continued to dominate their events, with both the underclassmen and veterans performing well. Senior Elizabeth Maloy continued her great form, posting a previous record of 4:43 to take first in the mile run. Classmate Ashley Hubbard added a run-away win in the 500-meter to complement Maloy’s performance. The women’s 4×800 had an impressive performance as well, taking an easy first. Yet sophomore pair Lauren Gregory and Renee Tomlin also stepped up, running outstanding races to garner top places for the Hoyas. Tomlin got her name amongst the storied top-10 times in school history in the 1000-meter, running a 2:48 to take second. In the 3000-meter was Gregory, who was the main Hoya to note, shattering her previous record by nearly 40 seconds to clock in at 9:40 and take third. “She had a great performance there. … She’s really more of a miler, 800 runner, and she’s demonstrated a lot of strength and a lot of toughness with that 9:40 and we were really happy with that,” Henner said.