Director of Track and Field Ron Hemler’s office is littered with trophies that recognize his squad’s achievements. The team’s success clearly stretches back years because the trophies have moved from shelves to the floor, in between t-shirt stocks and old Nike shoeboxes.

“We don’t really have one specific spot on campus where it’s just the track accomplishments,” junior Ashley Hubbard says. “I don’t think we’re as obvious with flashy awards but we know they’re there.”

Helmer lost a little more floor space this year with the women’s team taking first at the Big East indoor championships and third in the outdoor event while winning the ECAC title and having his coaching staff named coaches of the year for the indoor season by the league.

While the women’s track and field banners highlighting Big East championships can be found in corners of Yates, far from any real track facilities, this Georgetown team has quietly built up a competitive team without the amenities of big programs like Louisville or Notre Dame and their much larger track budgets.

With a roster of 27 athletes often competing against teams nearly twice as large, Georgetown has done things differently on the track and still found success. While most teams have runners that specialize in one relay or open event, Georgetown has found success brining together sprinters, middle-distance runner and long-distance athletes in creative ways.

“[Teams have] one long jumper, one 400m runner, a 4x800m totally separate from the open 800m,” sophomore heptathlon star Buky Bamigboye says. “At Georgetown’s track team, you’ve got girls doing 4×400, 4×800, the open 800m, trials, finals. You’ve got all sorts of girls doing their own sorts of heptathlon every week.”

There has been no shortage of work this year for the 27 – 12 athletes qualified for the NCAA regional meet and seven qualified in more than one event. With its biggest strength in the middle distances – 400m, 800m and 1500m – Georgetown’s sprinters and longer-distance runners overlap in races. Graduate student Hillary Bontz can be found running the open 1500m and 4x800m relay at the same meet while Bamigboye is versatile enough to compete in any distance up to 800m, with or without hurdles.

“I think a mistake that some teams make is saying you have to do this, you have to be a sprinter, you have to run distance,” Bamigboye says. “We don’t make that mistake here. Hillary runs a 26 [second] 200m in practice. So here is our 1500m girl running a decent 200m time . not something you normally see.

Bamigboye, Bontz and Hubbard agree that with such a small team – only Providence with 21 athletes and Seton Hall with 24 have smaller rosters in the conference – there are opportunities for team camaraderie that do not exist at bigger schools.

“Normally there’s a huge divide between the sprinters and long-distance but we have a very strong team in terms of middle distance,” Hubbard says. “It’s kind of nice on our team that the sprinters and distance overlap because we run a mix of events.”

Forced to prepare for so many events, the team has grown physically stronger, Bamigboye says.

“It’s funny with track because you’re always sizing up your competition. You say to yourself `So-and-so ran the open 1500m so she won’t be as ready for the open 800m.’ But with Georgetown you can’t do that,” she continues with a smile, “because we can have our girl run the 4x800m and the open 1500m and still come back tomorrow and win the open 800m.

“Don’t ever underestimate Georgetown because they’re running eight contests. It does not matter; every time we’ll come up to the line and compete as champions.”

That drive to improve is something the team prides itself upon. Helmer looks for athletes that buy into the idea that they can be part of something that will shape a successful but undermanned program and create a legacy. With limited funding and scholarships and no track facilities to speak of, luring recruits from the perks of the aforementioned Cardinals and Irish has not been easy for Helmer. But he’s done it.

“Some will choose the glitz and the glitter and all that,” Helmer said. “If you can get [recruits] on campus and sell what you have, you can get them. We don’t have the best of all things but we have the best of some things.”

What Helmer alludes to is the opportunity to be a serious student and a top-flight athlete.

“Georgetown is a place where you can have it both ways,” Helmer says. “Recruits see dean’s list individuals who are obvious academic talents who are also committed to being the best athletes they can be.”

From Bontz to Bamigboye, winning meets has put Georgetown back on the track map.

“The junior class of recruits that we have interested in Georgetown is a far more talented class of juniors than we’ve had the last five, six, seven years,” Helmer says. “That’s not because we’re recruiting harder. There’re more individuals with a high interest in Georgetown.”

Now, just competing in conference is no longer enough.

“We have multiple girls that are going to be running and throwing and jumping trying to gain all-American honors on the national level,” Bontz, a regional qualifier in the 1500m says. “It’s really exciting. Big East is a starting point. It’s not our pinnacle. It’s amazing to see so many girls as Big East champions but we look further.”

While nearly all student have checked out for summer, Helmer is preparing for next week’s NCAA regional qualifying tournament where Georgetown will enter four runners in the 800m, three in the 500m, five in the 1500m, one in the 3000m, two in the 10000m, two 4x400m teams a triple jumper, a long jumper and one heptathlete. With half of the team traveling to Gainesville, Fla., Bontz and company are excited to compete for those all-American honors, but also to cheer each other on because so few members of the Georgetown community have the ability or desire to follow track and field.

“We know how much work everyone puts in and the sacrifices they make,” she says. “You really get involved in how everyone’s doing you can feel the energy. When you’re running you can hear your teammates cheering for you and it helps.”

Adds Hubbard: “You may think track is an individual sport because it’s just you on a track by yourself, but we train all together, we know each other’s [personal records] . You get excited when you see someone do something big because you know what they’ve gone through to get there.”

With a student fan base consisting of roommates and friends, that kind of inter-team appreciation helps the squad overcome the relatively small space they know track takes up in any student’s sports consciousness.

“We keep competing,” Bamigboye says. “Girls that have all-American status in cross country are still going in June, July. The accomplishments are not played down, but they could be exposed more.”

While Helmer can’t help but be pleased with this season, he wants to set the bar higher for next year.

“And it’s not like we’ve gotten there yet. We’ve still got a long ways to go to making an impact on the national level,” he says.

“If the athletes that you have buy into that system and provide leadership, the other options cease to exist,” Helmer says. “The `get my money and have a good time’ options cease to exist. The `I got help getting in and now let’s forget about track’ ceases to exist. The option of losing ceases to exist.”

Sooner or later, if his winning ways continue, Helmer is going to run out of trophy room in his office. Then his hardware will start to spill out into the hallways of McDonough, tripping John Thompson III as he walks by. That will sure get his team noticed.