GENEVA, Ohio – The Georgetown University track & field teams closed the 2019 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships presented by Jeep on Saturday with ten top-three performances across both men's and women's teams over the two-day event held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The men claimed four titles en route to a third-place showing of 114 points. The women's team finished in sixth place with 54 points. After capturing three BIG EAST titles, Lawrence Leake (Huntington, N.Y. / Huntington) was named the meet's Men's High Point Track Performer with 22.5 points.
 
On the track, the GU men won four titles on Saturday with Leake winning his first two titles in the men's 400 and 200-meter dashes clocking personal-best times of 47.48 and 21.67, respectively. Both of those times have cracked the top five in program history. Leake's victory in the 200-meter dash is the second consecutive year Georgetown has won in that event. Ruach Padhal (London, Ontario / John Paul II Catholic) was able to run a strong pace en route to a comfortable victory in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.08. With Padhal's win, the Hoyas have now won four of the last six titles in that run.
 
The final title for the Blue & Gray came in the men's 4x400-meter relay where the foursome of Kino Cheltenham (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Brooklyn Tech), Padhal, Ethan Delgado (El Paso, Texas / El Dorado) and Leake captured the win in a time of 3:13.39. With the title, Georgetown has now won two of the last three in that category. Other notable performances on the men's side included Nick Wareham (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) in the mile, who finished in second place with a time of 4:02.71.

"The men had a fantastic meet across the board," Director of Track & Field Julie Culley said. "We scored in every event we contested and we came together with an energy we have not had in a few years. Finishing third was immense and another step for our program towards a team title. Lawrence was incredible and truly competed like a champion. He gave us absolutely everything he had and inspired his teammates to do the same."
 
For the women, it was a combination of distance running, sprinting and jumping as the Hoyas were able to record a trio of top-three performances. Taylor Williams (Hatboro, Pa. / Hatboro-Horsham) showcased her speed as she ran to a third-place finish in the women's 60-meter dash recording a time of 7.62. Eni Akinniyi (Denton, Texas / John H. Guyer) posted a third-place performance in the women's triple jump. Lastly, the quartet of Sami Corman (Bellevue, Wash. / Issaquah), Rachel Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass. / Tewksbury Memorial), Katherine Modrall (Carmel, Ind. / Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory) and Olivia Arizin (Media, Pa. / Cardinal O'Hara) put together a strong second-place finish in the women's 4x800-meter relay.
 
Josette Norris (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) and Paige Hofstad (New Braunfels, Texas / New Braunfels) were both able to contribute points in the women's 3,000-meter run finishing in fifth and sixth, respectively while freshman Cathilyn McIntosh (Loomis, Calif. / Del Oro) posted a fifth-place performance in the women's 400-meter dash collecting four points.

"We have a young women's team and a few injuries that hampered our overall performance this weekend," continued Culley. "We saw great efforts from Taylor finishing third in the 60-meter dash and a big jump from Eni to finish third in the triple jump. A few personal bests and season bests from women in the 400-meter dash, mile, 3,000-meter run, and 60-meter hurdles were great to see.  We're looking forward to some big performances come outdoors."
 
Georgetown returns to action on Saturday, March 2 as both squads will head to the IC4A/ECAC Championships held in Boston.

2019 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships: Final Standings
Men: 1. Villanova (174.50); 2. Marquette (169.50); 3. Georgetown (114); 4. Butler (95); 5. DePaul (88); 6. Providence (33); 7. Xavier (17)
Women: 1. Villanova (194); 2. DePaul (118); 3. Marquette (113); 4. St. John's (87); 5. Butler (60); 6. Georgetown (54); 7. Providence (51); 8. Xavier (20)
 
2019 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships: Final Results
Women's 60-Meter Dash (points)
3. Taylor Williams, 7.62 (6)
 
Men's 60-Meter Dash (points)
4. D'Andre Barriffe, 7.02 (5)
7. Josiah Laney, 7.05 (2)
 
Women's 200-Meter Dash (points)
4. Taylor Williams, 24.50 (5)
 
Men's 200-Meter Dash (points)
1. Lawrence Leake, 21.67 (10)
2. D'Andre Barriffe, 21.73 (8)
3. Nate Alleyne, 21.80 (6)
 
Women's 400-Meter Dash (points)
5. Cathilyn McIntosh, 55.50 (4)
 
Men's 400-Meter Dash (points)
1. Lawrence Leake, 47.48 (10)
3. Kino Cheltenham, 48.17 (6)
8. Quincey Wilson, 49.92 (1)
 
Women's 800-Meter Run (points)
6. Lexi Del Gizzo, 2:12.18 (3)
 
Men's 800-Meter Run (points)
1. Ruach Padhal, 1:49.08 (10)
3. Brennan Munley, 1:50.86 (6)
7. Ian Delgado, 1:52.55 (3)
 
Women's Mile (points)
5. Sami Corman, 4:50.41 (4)
7. Rachel Sessa, 4:55.55 (2)
 
Men's Mile (points)
2. Nick Wareham, 4:02.71 (8)
 
Women's 3,000-Meter Run (points)
5. Josette Norris, 9:33.63 (4)
6. Paige Hofstad, 9:34.21 (3)
 
Men's 3,000-Meter Run (points)
4. Jack Salisbury, 8:15.02 (5)
5. Jack Van Scoter, 8:15.70 (4)
 
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles (points)
5. Vickie Milledge, 8.98 (4)
 
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (points)
5. Cathilyn McIntosh / Lexi Del Gizzo / Josette Norris / BryAnn Sandy, 3:54.76 (4)
 
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (points)
1. Kino Cheltenham / Ruach Padhal / Ethan Delgado / Lawrence Leake, 3:13.39 (10)
 
Men's 4x800-Meter Relay (points)
5. Adam Barnard / Joshua Bell / Ian Delgado / Brennan Munley, 7:38.35 (4)