Filed under Track and Field …

Aug 12 2012
By Corey Blaine Commentary, Olympics, Track and Field

London Games Return U.S. to Distance-Running Relevance

New Training Mentality Paying Dividends

Ryan Hall entered London as the best chance for the U.S. men’s marathon team to earn a medal in an event recently dominated by runners from eastern Africa. Unfortunately for him, he experienced a tight hamstring on race day that ultimately forced him to drop out after sliding to as low as 50th place. Former American Abdi Abdirahman dropped out shortly afterwards, leaving only the 37 year-old and recently injured Meb Keflezighi in the field for the U.S.

Before the runners had even reached the halfway mark, it already seemed as if this year would be the same as every other in recent memory in the Olympic marathon.

Coming up empty in the men’s marathon is nothing new for the United States, as the team has only medaled once since Frank Shorter’s silver medal in 1976 and as recently as 2000 only qualified one runner for the marathon out of the allowed three. But, even with every bit of recent history and the fact that it was only 5 a.m., I still couldn’t leave the television, not after watching the incredible U.S. distance performances of the past week.

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Apr 29 2012
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By Josh Simmons Rapid Recap, Track and Field

Rapid Recap: Women Impress at Penn Relays

The Penn Relays were this past weekend, and I know what everyone is thinking: how could I both participate and report on the event? Well, shockingly, I am not a member of the Georgetown track and field team, despite my incredibly athletic 5’9” 140-pound frame and blazing 10-second 40-yard dash. So, I will settle for the next best thing and give a quick recap.

The Georgetown men and women posted strong results at the Penn Relays, in front of a three-day crowd of 112,416. On Thursday, poor weather threatened to ruin the day, but the skies cleared for the women’s distance medley relay, the women’s 4×400-meter heats, and the women’s 5,000-meter race. The Hoyas won the distance medley last year, but elected to go with a younger squad in order to gain experience. In the event, led by All-Americans Madeline Chambers and Chelsea Cox, Georgetown finished seventh. In the 4×400, the Blue and Gray ended in eighth, which was good enough to qualify them for Saturday’s final.

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Feb 19 2012
By Pat Curran Track and Field

Infeld Leads GU Women to Big East Title; Men Finish 8th

by Ashwin Wadekar

Emily Infeld is having herself a year to remember.

Fresh off of leading the women’s cross-country to its first national championship in the fall, Infeld led the distance medley relay squad to a victory and captured both the mile and 3000m run titles, helping the Hoyas win Big East indoor track championship this weekend. The men’s team finished in 8th place overall.

Infeld, who still has one more year of eligibility in indoor track, anchored the 1,600m leg of a DMR squad that finished with a time of 9:39.39.  Sophomores Kirsten Kasper, Tenille Stoudenmire and Chelsea Cox joined Infeld on the DMR team.

Cox also finished in 3rd place in the 800m run behind senior Kathy Klump of Cincinnati and junior Brigette Mania of Connecticut.

The women finished with a total of 102 points, edging out Cincinnati (90 points) and Villanova (89.5) for the top spot.

The men’s 8th place finish put the team between Syracuse (57) and Marquette (33). Notable performances included sophomore Hansel Akers’ 6th place finish in the 500m dash with a time of 1:03.73, sophomore Ben Furcht’s 6th place finish in the mile with a time of 4:12.21 and sophomore Andrew Springer’s second place finish in the 3,000m run with a time of 7:59.55. Springer’s performance was a record in the Big East championship but still fell short of catching senior David McCarthy of Providence, who won the event by just over 2 seconds.

The men’s relay teams also performed well. The 4x800m squad consisting of sophomore Bobby Peavey, senior Toby Ulm and freshmen Michael Reher and Omar Kaddurah came in third place overall. The DMR team of Kaddrah, Ulm, senior Theon O’Conner and Springer placed in second.

The track season continues with the national championship on March 9 in Nampa, Idaho.

Feb 12 2012
By Rae Underberg Rapid Recap, Track and Field

Rapid Recap: Hoyas Close out Indoor Track and Field Season

Georgetown sent runners to both coasts this weekend to finish off the final competitions of the indoor track and field season. Athletes competed in the Husky Classic at Dempsey Indoor Track in Seattle, Washington, as well as, the BU Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University in Massachusetts. Three runners also participated in the US Junior Cross Country Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.

On the west coast, junior Andrew Springer finished the 3,000m individual with a time of 7:53.69. Unfortunately this time was just a second or so short of qualifying for the NCAA championships, but the time does qualify Springer to run in the conference championships in NYC. Coach Michael Banks also competed this weekend, entering in the men’s invitational mile. Banks finished seventh overall and was the second post-collegiate finisher.

Closer to home on the east coast, The Blue and Gray had more luck in terms of qualifying for the Big East Championships. The men’s 3,000m run saw two Hoyas qualify for post season running, junior Ben Furcht and sophomore Ben King. Furcht ran an impressive 8:12.06, leading Georgetown with an eighth place finish and King finished in seventeenth with a time of 8:18.69. Four more Hoyas qualified to run the mile in Big Easts: junior Bobby Peavey (4:04.56), junior Dylan Sorensen (4:06.27), sophomore Max Darrah (4:07.13) and sophomore Michael Reher (4:11.30). Finishing eighteenth in the men’s 1,000m race with a time of 2:29.61, freshman Miles Schoedler also qualified for the Big East Championships. Senior Theon O’Conner qualified for conference championships this weekend as well, finishing with a time of 1:49.37 in the men’s 800m dash.

Three Georgetown freshmen also had also had a great weekend competing in the US Junior Cross Country Championships despite the cold weather. Collin Leibold paced a 5:06 mile and finished the course in St. Louis in 25:16.8. Ryan Gil finished just after pacing a 5:11 mile. Austin Gregor clocked in with a time of 26:03.4.

The Hoyas look forward to the Big East Championships February 18-19 to close out the season at the Armory in NYC.

Feb 05 2012
By Rae Underberg Rapid Recap, Track and Field

Rapid Recap: Hoyas Run Strong in New Balance Invitational

The Georgetown men’s and women’s track and field teams took the long drive up to New York City this weekend to compete in the New Balance Invitational, hosted by Armory. The long trip had no negative effects on the team, who ran faster than ever. After this invitational, another group of Georgetown athletes qualified to compete in the Big East Championships held later this month. Continue reading →

Feb 02 2012
By Chris Jones Men's Basketball, Swimming & Diving, Track and Field, Weekend Preview, Women's Basketball

Weekend Preview: Track and Field Teams Travel to the Northeast

After an impressive win against Connecticut last night, men’s basketball leads hopeful Hoya fans into a busy first weekend of February. Also playing in this sports-filled weekend are the cross country / track and field, women’s basketball and swimming and diving teams. Continue reading →

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