WASHINGTON – The Georgetown track & field team took fourth in both the men's and women's Championship of America Distance Medley Relays (DMR) at the 2023 Penn Relays on Friday. The second of a three-day meet saw both the men's and women's squads toe the line against some of the toughest competition in the country at historic Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
 
ON THE RECORD
"We were very proud of how well our men and women competed in the DMR this weekend. Came up short of the COA wins but fourth overall by both teams against some of the best teams in the country isn't anything to hang our heads about. We're going to dry off and line up again on Saturday in the 4x1,500m with our women and 4xMile for our men, along with Eni closing things out in the triple jump." - Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Alton McKenzie
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• The Hoyas opened the day in the jumps pit with Chloe Williams taking fourth in the women's long jump. Her mark of 5.81m on her third attempt was just shy of her career best of 5.82m.
• In the women's Championship of America DMR, the quartet of Chloe Gonzalez, Maya Drayton, Grace Jensen and Melissa Riggins lined up against strong competition, including reigning NCAA DMR champion Stanford. Through Gonzalez' 1,200-leg and Drayton's 400-meter stint, the Hoyas had slipped to ninth at the second handoff. Jensen split 2:06.29 over 800 meters, the third-fastest split, to make up three spots and hand off in sixth place. Riggins' anchor leg pushed the Hoyas up another two spots as she split 4:33.82 and the Blue & Gray took fourth place in a time of 10:58.78. The foursome are only the second GU squad in history to break the 11-minute barrier during the outdoor season, joining the 2011 winning DMR squad.
• Matthew Rizzo and Joshua Paige ran the first two legs of the men's Championship of America DMR, going through in fourth with splits of 2:54.17 and 48.01, respectively. Theo Woods took over the third leg, splitting 1:49.00 over 800 meters before Matthew Payamps took over the anchor leg, receiving the baton in fifth place. Going out in 4:04.10, Payamps moved Georgetown up one spot to a fourth-place finish at 9:36.16.
• The day closed on the 4x400-meter relay heats with the women finishing 17th in the heats clocking 3:54.02 to take fifth in the third heat. The men took 13th in the college section heats with a time of 3:23.18.

 
FOLLOW THE HOYAS

• A schedule and live results for the 2023 Penn Relays will be available on GUHoyas.com.
• The 2023 Penn Relays will be available on FloTrack and provided on GUHoyas.com.
   

UP NEXT
The Hoyas will continue with the three-day Penn Relays held at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.