WASHINGTON – Georgetown university's track & field program began its first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships, taking silver in the men's distance medley relay. A trio of Hoyas also had strong performances, with Chloe Scrimgeour taking a top-10 finish in the women's 5,000m and two athletes advancing to tomorrow's final events.
With today's final events scored, the Hoyas are in eighth place on the men's side with eight points and 28th on the women's side with two points.


FOLLOW THE HOYAS

• Live results will be available on GUHoyas.com.
• The championships will be streamed on ESPN+ and aired on the ESPN family of networks.

ON THE RECORD:
"Another great day to be a Hoya. So proud of the effort across the board today by both our men and women who competed. I have to highlight the phenomenal effort from our men's DMR quartet. Matt, Josh, Tim & Camden all ran great legs to give us a chance at the win. Our runner-up finish is our best placing in a very long time. Also great to see Chloe Scrimgeour securing a seventh place finish and breaking her own school record in the 5K. Can't say how proud we are as a staff of the way they represented our program today." - Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Alton McKenzie

"Overall a great day for the program. The DMR was in a position to win and we came up slightly short. Every person that raced today executed well. We came up slightly short but finishing second is massive for our program." - Assistant Coach Brandon Bonsey 

"After the last two NCAA meets in which Scrimgeour chased from behind and ran herself into the top group, we approached this race differently by having her go with the front-runners from the start. She handled well the intensity and exposure of that decision, and she learned a lot about the small moments that make great races when the approach is aggressive. I'm really proud of how instinctive and tough she was, and we're excited about what she can take from this type of race into future championship races." - Assistant Coach Mitchell Baker

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown finished as the NCAA runner-up in the men's distance medley relay (DMR) with a time of 9:25.77. Matthew Payamps took the 1,200m leg, working his way up toward the front of the pack and finishing with a 2:55.80 split. Joshua Paige took the track next for the 400m leg, sprinting a 46.85 split and passing the baton off to Tim McInerney for the 800m. McInerney ran a blazing 1:47.70 split to put the Hoyas in a good position going into the 1600m. Camden Gilmore took the anchor leg, maintaining his position among the top three in the field. With two laps to go, Gilmore made his move coming off the first turn, taking second place. In the bell lap, Gilmore could not outkick the runner from Oklahoma State, but secured Georgetown the silver with a split of 3:55.44.
• Scrimgeour took seventh in the women's 5k final, securing two points for the Hoyas. Her mark of 15:21.80 was a personal best and set a new school record. Throughout the entirety of the race, Scrimgeour was part of the front half of the race. As the lead pack started to stretch thin, Scrimgeour stayed among the top six or seven. With 1,200 meters to go, the West Hartford, Connecticut product seemed to slow slightly, but she found another gear and recorded faster and faster splits over the final six laps, closing on a 34.69 split over the final 200 meters to secure the seventh spot and make the podium. 
• In the men's mile prelim, Abel Teffra competed in the second of a two-heat semifinal with the top four from each heat advancing automatically and the remaining two qualifiers getting into the finals based on time. The race would be a bit too close for comfort as a few runners got tangled up over the eight-lap race. Teffra made his move after the fourth lap and propelled himself into third place with a 29.91 split. He stayed among the leaders through the bell when he started to make moves around the first turn to challenge. Unsuccessful on the outside move, Teffra tucked back in before the all-out sprint coming off the final turn. The field hit their final kick and Teffra clocked 3:58.77 for the automatic qualifier to advance to Saturday's final. 
• In the women's mile prelim, Melissa Riggins confidently ran through six laps in a close race with little separation before making her move with two laps to go. Outkicking the rest of the competition, Riggins broke away, significantly closing the gap on Providence's Kimberley May and West Virginia's Ceili McCabe. She comfortably took third in the heat with a time of 4:32.83, automatically qualifying for tomorrow's final with the four best of each heat.
• The Hoyas were looking good in the men's 800-meter prelims as Tinoda Matsatsa was competing in the second of a two-heat semifinal. With a stacked field, Matsatsa ended up in the slower of the two heats, which meant he had to finish among the top three to advance to Saturday's final. On the bell lap, Matsatsa sensed Texas' Yusuf Bizimana, the 2023 champion in the event, on his right shoulder. Matsatsa succeeded in holding off the Longhorn but Iowa State's Darius Kipyego took advantage of an opening on the inside track as the Clemson runner moved up the track. Matsatsa timed in at 1:47.81 to take fourth in the heat and narrowly missed a spot in Saturday's final. 

OF NOTE

• This is the first ever NCAA runner-up finish in the men's DMR. The last time the Hoyas were among the top three in the event was during the 2017 NCAA Championships when the quartet of Darren Fahy, Quincey Wilson, Spencer Brown and Scott Carpenter clocked 9:33.42. 
• Scrimgeour's performance in the 5,000m finals is the best by a Hoya in the event since Melissa Grelli finished sixth in 2008 with a time of 16:10.83. 

UP NEXT
The Hoyas will continue the NCAA Indoor Championship meet in Boston, Massachusetts tomorrow, March 9, with three runners taking four total spots in a trio of final events throughout the course of the day. Live results can be found on GUHoyas.com and the meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.


2024 NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
All times listed in ET.
Saturday, March 9:
4:00 PM: Men's Mile Final - Abel Teffra
7:00 PM: Women's Mile Final - Melissa Riggins
8:00 PM: Women's 3000m Final - Melissa Riggins, Chloe Scrimgeour