WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University track & field teams returned to University Park, Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday for the Penn State National, hosted by Penn State University at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. After two days of competition, the Hoyas were able to finish strong in a number of events. Overall, Georgetown secured four first-place finishes and four top-three finishes on the weekend.
 
Men's Recap
The most impressive performance came from day two as All-American Joe White (Clifton, N.J. / DePaul Catholic) posted a facility record time of 1:46.91 and came away with the victory in the 800-meter run. Ruach Padhal (London, Ontario / John Paul II Catholic) followed close behind finishing in third with a time of 1:49.91. Junior Jack Salisbury (Rumford, R.I. / La Salle Academy) repeated his performance from two weeks ago as he finished in first place in the 1,000-meter run, posting a personal-best time of 2:24.57. In the mile event, senior Nick Wareham was able to run a very tactical race running a strong last 200 meters as he was edged out by only .01 seconds to claim second place. Sophomores Jack Van Scoter (Pasadena, Calif. / Flintridge Prep) and Matthew Bouthillette (North Providence, R.I. / La Salle Academy) cracked the top five as they finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

"We had a great meet today across the board from both the men's and women's teams," Director of Track & Field Julie Culley said. "Joe's performance in the 800-meter run was a strong demonstration of his fitness and growing confidence.  To break the facility record at Penn State is an incredible benchmark.  The men's team had a huge run from Lawrence Leake who ran the fifth-fastest 400-meter race of the day and cracked the top-ten list for Georgetown.  We also had strong performances from Jack Salisbury, winning the 1000-meter run and a close runner-up finish for Nick Wareham in the mile."

Women's Recap
On the women's side, the Hoyas posted a pair of first-place finishes. In the mile, Josette Norris (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) made a statement as she pulled away to secure a victory with a time of 4:46.04. Sophomore Paige Hofstad (New Braunfels, Texas / New Braunfels) finished in fourth place in the event, posting a personal-best time of her own of 4:48.38. Freshman Cathilyn McIntosh (Loomis, Calif. / Del Oro) was able to receive her first win as a Hoya with a time of 1:31.04 in 600-meter run. Sophomore Lexi Del Gizzo (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) finished in third with a time of 1:34.19 in the same event.

"The women's team was led by Cathilyn's first collegiate career win in the women's 600-meter event, running a well-executed race and negative splitting the final 200 meters to break open the field to take the win," Culley continued. "Josette Norris had a well-deserved win in the women's mile after the pacer dropped off, taking control and pushing the pace to drop the field and run a solid time of 4:46.   She's had a great few weeks of training to prep for her first indoor 5K at Iowa State in two weeks, where she will be joined by teammate Paige Hofstad who also ran a big PR in the mile today. The energy from the team was great today and we saw some big efforts and personal bests from our team.  We are excited to have a few more opportunities in February to hit big marks before Big East and the post season."

The Blue & Gray will now head to Staten Island, N.Y. for the Villanova Invitational held at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Saturday, Feb. 2.
 
Georgetown Men Among the Top Three
Men's 800-Meter Run
1. Joe White, 1:46.91
3. Ruach Padhal, 1:49.91
 
Men's 1,000-Meter Run
1. Jack Salisbury, 2:24.57
 
Men's Mile
2. Nick Wareham, 4:05.23
 
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
3. Quincey Wilson, Lawrence Leake, Ruach Padhal, Joe White, 3:14.70
 
Georgetown Women Among the Top Three
Women's 600-Meter Run
1. Cathilyn McIntosh, 1:31.04
3. Lexi Del Gizzo, 1:34.19
 
Women's Mile
1. Josette Norris, 4:46.04