The Georgetown cross country team has been tearing up the turf this fall. Following a first place finish by the men and a second place finish by the women at the Great Meadows Invitational, the team put up an identically impressive finish at the Paul Short Invite, earning the men and women national ranks of 12th and 19th.
From there everything was downhill with the men finishing third at the Pre-Nationals. The team carried its momentum and a No. 9 national ranking into the Bronx for the Big East Championships last Friday.
Both the men and women’s squads breezed through the Van Cortlandt Park leaves and past their competition for second and fourth place finishes. Notre Dame finished first among both the men and the women with five of their men finishing in the top nine and four of their women placing in the top 10. However, this was the second straight year in which both the men and women Hoya herds finished in the top five.
“In the 27-year history of men’s Big East cross country we have never been worse than fifth, and in the 24 years of women’s, we have never been worse than fourth,” Head Coach Ron Helmer said. “The expectation and goal of both our coaches and athletes is to contend for the championship every year. When we come up a bit short, we are still pretty good.”
Though they did come up short in their quest for a Big East Championship, the Hoyas’ performance has coaches nationwide believing that they are a more than “pretty good.” The United States Cross Country Coaches Association ranked the Georgetown men No. 7 in the most recent NCAA Division I national poll. It’s the highest the Hoyas have been ranked all year, but coach Helmer knows that it doesn’t mean much right now.
“I think (the team) understands that it is pretty meaningless unless they perform at the national championships,” Helmer said. “Everyone likes positive recognition, but as I said before, it all goes out the window, and you get a very hollow, empty feeling if you don’t back up your ranking at the championships.”
The Hoyas rode to their swift Big East Championship finish on the spikes of sophomore Matt Debole, who finished third. He was the youngest finisher in the top five and set a Georgetown record, striding through the six-mile course in 24:13. Senior Fleet Hower, living up to his name, led all seniors and set a personal record, finishing fourth with a time of 24:20.
The women were led by the All-Big East performance of junior Elizabeth Maloy, who came in sixth, and sophomore Maggie Infeld, who sprinted to a tenth place finish.
The Hoyas will try to continue their staggering pace into the final stretch of the season and high-step through the Regional and National Championships of November.
“We certainly are not at a point where we are just hanging on waiting to be done,” Helmer said. “Now is the time to move forward and leave our cross country mark for 2005.”
Taking it one week at a time, the Hoyas will try to leave their competition catching its breath this Saturday at the Cavalier Open at Virginia.
“Every week we ask them to get better,” coach Helmer said. “We need to hold true to the course and get better each step along the way.”
