March 29, 2008

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University track and field team opened the 2008 outdoor season by traveling to Raleigh, N.C. for the two-day Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State University. Held at the newly-renovated Derr Track, the Hoyas were able to qualify three student-athletes to the NCAA Regional Championships in two events. For the men, the postseason numbers were two qualifying for the BIG EAST Championship, three IC4A qualifying times and a lone NCAA Regional qualifying time. For the women, there were four BIG EAST qualifying marks, three ECAC and two NCAA Regional qualifying times.

On the first day of the event, freshman Chris Kinney (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge) hit an NCAA Regional qualifying time with his 14.28 mark in the 110m high hurdles, qualifying him for the final round where his time of 14.44 put him at fourth in the event.

Sophomore Sandy Roberts (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton) looked comfortable to be back in his hometown as he took fourth place overall in the 1500m with a time of 3:50.19, the highest Hoya finish in the event. His time qualified him for the postseason as it hit a BIG EAST Championship mark as well as an IC4A mark.

Also qualifying for the IC4A Championship was the 4x800m relay squad. With a time of 7:42.59, the quartet took fourth place. Another notable finish was the second-place 4x1500m relay squad that timed in at 15:34.80.

For the women, the 3000m steeplechase was the highlight of the weekend. Senior Joanna Rodgers (Fairfax, Va./J.W. Robinson/NC State) ran an astounding 10:39.52 to win the event and qualify for the NCAA Regional, ECAC Championships and BIG EAST Championships. Sophomore Lauren Gregory (Denville, N.J./Morris Knolls) also qualified for all three postseason events as she timed in at 10:47.67 for second place.

The 4x800m relay squad took second place and qualified for the ECAC Championship with a time of 9:04.78 while the 4x200m relay quartet finished third as they timed in at 1:42.74.

Senior Ashley Hubbard (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) qualified for the BIG EAST Championship when she finished 14th in the 400m with a time of 56.53 while sophomore Tanore Barrow (New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) also qualified for the BIG EAST Championship as she put up a mark of 13.13m in the shot put.

The Hoyas continue competition next weekend as they split locations between the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. and the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.