WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University track & field team continues to excel even as the NCAA season closed two weeks ago. With competitors in both the USA Track & Field (USATF) U20 Outdoor Championships in Miramar, Florida as well as the Jamaica Junior National Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, the Hoyas boasted strong performances all around.
 
Sami Corman (Bellevue, Wash. / Issaquah) was the highlight of the weekend of competition as she ran 4:29.81 to win the U20 1,500-meter final. Corman bested the field of seven to coast to a win by more than one second. With the win, Corman is automatically selected and processed as a member of the USATF National Team competing at the 2019 Pan Am U20 Championships, held July 18-21 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
 
"Sami's win at the USATF junior championships is a testament to the work she has put in during her freshman year," Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Julie Culley said. "I am so proud of her transition to the sport on the collegiate level and the training that goes into elite competition. Georgetown continues to be among the very best in this sport and the performances of our athletes over the weekend bodes well for the future of this program."
 
In the U20 steeplechase, a pair of Hoyas competed in the finals. Katie Dammer (Clarks Summit, Pa. / Abington Heights) and Rachel Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass. / Tewksbury Memorial) finished third (10:47.66) and sixth (11:09.96), respectively.
 
Down in Kingston, D'Andre Barriffe (Jamaica, N.Y. / Bishop Loughlin Memorial) battled through the U20 200-meter prelims with a time of 21.77 to automatically qualify for the finals of the event. The finals, with an audience boasting two-time Olympic champion sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, saw Barriffe run 21.83, good enough for fourth place in a tough race. The meet serves as the selection process for several national teams, including the IAAF World Championships, Junior Pan American Games and the NACAC Championships.
 
"It was an amazing experience to have a Georgetown student-athlete compete in the junior national championships in Jamaica," Associate Head Coach of Track & Field Alton McKenzie said. "It was a great opportunity for him and for the University to get recognized at a national meet outside of the US. His fourth-place finish definitely puts him in the conversation for future opportunities at the national level. It certainly speaks well for the future."
 
Georgetown Track & Field at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships
U20 1,500-Meter Run
1. Sami Corman, 4:29.81
 
U20 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
4. Katie Dammer, 10:47.66
6. Rachel Sessa, 11:09.96
 
Georgetown Track & Field at the Jamaica Jr. & Sr. National Championships
U20 200-Meter Dash
4. D'Andre Barriffe, 21.77