WASHINGTON – The Georgetown men's and women's track & field team had athletes compete at the Scarlet & White Invitational in Boston, Massachusetts and the East Coast Invitational in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The day of events led to a successful outing as Georgetown saw a 40-year record broken and numerous other athletes finish top five or record a new personal best. 
 
WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Sami Corman and Kiera Bothwell placed in the top-10 for the Hoyas in the mile. Corman finished with a time of 4:39.54 (fifth) and Bothwell at 4:42.33 (seventh).
• Freshman Melissa Riggins finished second in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:05.93. This is the second meet of her career and the second top three place she has secured so far this season. Sierra Dinneen placed sixth in the same event (2:09.80) and Rachel Sessa finished a few seconds behind at 2:10.76.
• Renee Newton placed fourth in the 500 meter setting a new PR of 1:14.92. 
• Maya Drayton came in eighth in the 200 meter dash and ninth in the 400 meter with times of 24.74 and 56.18, respectively.
• KC Ashiogwu placed fourth at the East Coast Invitational in the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.56.

 
MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Georgetown dominated the leaderboard in the men's mile with Matthew Payamps (1), Camden Gilmore (2), Parker Stokes (7), Jantz Tostenson (8), and Owen Ritz (10) all finishing in the top ten. 
• Payamps broke Georgetown's 40 year school record for the mile with a time of 3:55.53 and Gilmore ran a sub four minute mile at 3:58.36.
• Matthew Rizzo finished third in the 800 meter run (1:49.96), Tim McInerney finished fourth (1:50.18), and Abel Teffra finished eighth (1:51.19).
• Joshua Paige 3rd overall in the 200m lowering the school record to 21.12.

 
Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Atlon McKenzie on the Scarlet & White Invitational:
Overall an exceptional day of running for our men & women at BU's Scarlet & White Invitational. I must highlight our men's mid distance/distance group as they continue to show our immense depth (with six men running 4:04 or faster in the mile); the highlight of course has to be Matt Payamps breaking a school record that stood for 40 years, running an astonishing 3:55.53 seconds. On the women's side we were also pleased to see Sami Corman run under 4:40 in the mile (4:39.54) and our freshman Melissa Riggins running a big personal best of 2:05.93 in the 800m in her second race as a collegiate. Sprints saw Joshua Paige continue to rewrite the record books lowering his own school record in the 200m  to 21.12 seconds. It's a great way to start off February and we're looking forward to continued big performances from the team across multiple events in the weeks to come."
 
Assistant Coach for Track & Field Brandon Bonsey:
"It was a great day for Hoya middle distance running today in Boston. Matt Payamps executed a perfect race closing in 56.3 on his last 400 to break the school record. We've known Matt was this good for a while but it was great to see him prove it. It's also very cool that the school record didn't even change high schools. Matt and John Gregorek both went to St. Anthony's on Long Island. Camden Gilmore's 3:58 cannot be overlooked. A sub 4 minute mile is a big deal and I couldn't be more excited about his race. Matt Rizzo and Tim McInerney also did a great job in the 800. Those were their first races this winter. They will run very fast soon." 
 
UP NEXT:
Georgetown heads to Boston University for the Valentine Invitational on February 11.