Winter was a kind season for the Hoya Track and Field Program. The men finished third in the Big East and won their first Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) title since 2002, and the women finished second in the Big East. In addition, sophomore Andrew Bumbalough and senior Matt Debole earned All American honors and lead the men to a 17th-place finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The team had an “outstanding indoor season both in terms of team performance and individual performance,” Head Coach Patrick Henner said. “We are hoping that we can carry that momentum from the winter into the spring and get some good performances and some IC4A, Big East and NCAA qualifying times.”
As they moved outdoors this past weekend to compete in the Raleigh Relays, the team did exactly that.
Senior Joanna Roberts had the most impressive outing, posting a time of 10:39.52 minutes in the steeplechase, which qualified her for all three postseason meets (IC4A, Big East and NCAA). Her performance earened her first place at the Raleigh meet.
Freshman Chris Kinney was the only male Hoya to put up an NCAA regional qualifying time. On the first day of competition he ran a time of 14.28 seconds in the 110m high hurdles, which qualified him for the NCAA Regional meet and pushed him into the final round of the hurdles at Raleigh, where he finished fourth with a time of 14.44 seconds, and Raleigh native sophomore Sandy Roberts finished fourth in the 1500m with a time of 3:50.19 minutes. He was the first Hoya finisher in that event and qualified for the IC4A outdoor meet.
“90 percent of the time, team and individual success go hand in hand,” Henner said. “If you are looking to develop an athlete over time, they therefore are going to contribute the most to the team. If you focus on developing the individual athlete then you will have the best team performances.”
The team will compete in several prestigious college meets this spring, including the Stanford Invitational this week and the storied Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania at the end of April.
“The Penn Relays and the Stanford meet are important because of the big stage that they’re on,” Henner said. “Historically we have always done well at the Penn Relays but the meets we really want to focus on are the championship meets.”
An oft-overlooked team on campus, Georgetown Track is loaded with strong athletes like Bumbalough, who, as Coach Patrick Henner said after he finished second in the mile at the NCAA championships in the winter, “should be considered one of the best middle distance runners in the country.”
The team will compete in two meets this weekend, with some of the team headed to Williamsburg, Va. to take part in the Colonial Relays and the rest going to Stanford.
