TRACK AND FIELD | Distance Runners Prove Strong Again for Hoyas – Georgetown University The Hoya

The Georgetown men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Ames, Iowa, and Boston on Saturday for the Iowa State Classic hosted by Iowa State University and the Valentine’s Day Invitational hosted by Boston University. The Hoyas ran well in both meets, but it was the distance runners again who proved to be Georgetown’s strength.

The Hoyas faced tough competition against the University of Illinois, Northern Arizona University and the University of Kansas among other teams, which all rank in the top 30 for Division 1 track and field.

On the women’s side, graduate student Josette Norris finished in the top 10 with a time of 16:02.10 in the 5000-meter run. Junior Paige Hofstad finished five seconds after to take 11th place.

As for the men’s squad, in the 800-meter race, sophomore Ruach Padhal was also able to break through the top 10, finishing in eighth place out of 54 runners. Junior Jack Van Scoter gave an impressive performance in the 3000-meter run, finishing in fifth place with a time of 8:10.48.

At the Valentine’s Day Invitational, the Hoyas once again proved the team’s strength lies in its long-distance runners, as members of the Georgetown men’s track team recorded a number of personal bests.

Senior Spencer Brown came close to cracking the top 10 in the 1-mile run, putting up a personal best sub-four time of 3:59.97 and ultimately placing 12th.

Classmate and teammate Nick Wareham as well as junior Jack Salisbury also ran personal bests in the 1-mile, with times of 4:01.6 minutes and 4:03.19 minutes respectively.

The spring season is now underway for the Hoyas. Throughout the year they have proven to be one of the best teams in the Big East. Led by their dominant long-distance team, both Georgetown’s men’s and women’s teams recorded great performances the last two weeks in the Penn State Invitational and the Villanova Invitational.

This weekend, the track and field teams will participate in their last races before the Big East Track and Field Championships, scheduled for Feb. 22 and 23. On Friday, the Hoyas will compete in the JDL Fast Track Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. The following day the team will be traveling to South Bend, Ind., for the Alex Wilson Invitational.