Hoya XC: Three More All Americans. . .

For interviews, visit: http://guhoyas.cstv.com/sports/w-track/recaps/112309aab.html

Bumbalough and Infeld Finish in the Top Ten at the NCAA Cross Country Championships

Three Hoyas Named USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Americans

Nov. 23, 2009

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University cross country team traveled to Terre Haute, Ind., today to compete in the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Hoyas garnered three U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America recognitions as graduate student Andrew Bumbalough (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) and senior Mike Krisch (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) finished eighth and 33rd overall in the men's race, respectively; while sophomore Emily Infeld (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont) placed eighth in the women's race.

It is Bumbalough's sixth All-America honor and third-straight for cross country (2007, 2008, 2009.) He timed in at 29:39.1 to place eighth in the 10,000-meter race, his best finish at the NCAA Championships.

This is the first All-America recognition for Krisch who finished 33rd overall with a time of 30:18.3.

Infeld earned her third All-America honor today, her first in cross country, with an eighth-place finish in the women's 6,000-meter race, timing in at 20:07.9.

In the men's race, the third Hoya to cross the finish line was graduate student Levi Miller (Belfast, Maine/Belfast Area) who finished 140th overall with a time of 31:17.6 followed by junior James Grimes (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) in 203rd place (31:57.7) and graduate student Michael Banks (Holden, Mass./Waschusett Regional) in 208th (32:07.6).

The men finished 22nd as a team with 485 points. The men's field was led by Oklahoma State (127), followed by Oregon (143), Alabama (173), Northern Arizona (190), William & Mary (226), Colorado (315), Wisconsin (321), New Mexico (350), Iona (350) and Stanford (354) for the top 10.

In the women's race, graduate student Natasha LaBeaud (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) finished 78th overall with a time of 21:09.6, followed by freshman Emily Jones (Harvard, Mass./Bromfield) in 99th place (21:16.8), freshman Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) in 187th place (21:56.8) and freshman Rachel Schneider (Dover, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) in 229th (22:35.5) to round out the point scorers.

The women finished 21st as a team with 495 points. The women's field was led by BIG EAST and Mid-Atlantic Region powerhouse Villanova (86), followed by Florida State (133), Washington (188), Texas Tech (191), Princeton (251), West Virginia (259), Florida (260), Duke (272), Oregon (276), and Minnesota (310) for the top 10.

Story about Rev Betowski, S.J, moderator to track program, 1951-68

My name is Don Betowski (Georgetown college class of 1966), aka Nevada Hoya on the popular Hoya Talk board. I try to keep the basketball crazy alumni and fans informed of the exploits of the Hoya track and field team (http://guhoyas.cstv.com/genrel/112108aan.html).

I am not a track alumnus; the closest I came to being on the track and field team was the day Coach Steve Benedek was watching me try to go over the high jump bar. He had seen me playing basketball, and in those days I estimate I had a three foot vertical leap. Unfortunately, I could not translate that vertical leap into very successful high jump form to get over the bar. I later took up distance running in graduate school, so I have come to greatly appreciate the efforts of the Hoya middle and distance runners.

But this essay is not about me, but rather about my late uncle, Rev. E. Paul Betowski, S.J. My uncle was a 1936 graduate of Georgetown, and when he became a Jesuit, he was assigned to his alma mater, where he stayed from 1951 to 1968. Because he was a trackman, at least in high school (Waverly, NY), and had run the half mile in about 2:04 to 2:06 back in the early ‘30s, he was made the moderator of the track team. My uncle was probably the most spirited Jesuit at the university. He was an avid sports fan, especially when it came to his beloved Hoyas. I later met another Jesuit, who was in the seminary with my uncle, and on learning that I was his nephew, his face lighted up at his recollection of my uncle. Apparently, at the seminary silence was maintained at the community breakfast table. I guess that rule was followed except for my uncle, who would come down to breakfast with the sports section in hand, and he would read out the results for the previous day’s sports events for the rest of the community.

At Georgetown my uncle was occasionally called into the office of the president, Father Bunn at the time, to talk about his actions at the previous evening’s basketball game. He would regularly visit the referees in their locker rooms in McDonough gym to question the calls that they had missed during the game. At games he would cheer as loudly as any enthusiastic undergrad.

My father and I would meet my uncle (my dad’s brother) at Madison Square Garden each year on the occasion of the Millrose Games. It was a thrill for me, as a high school student, to go into the Garden and see all those famous track and field stars. And Georgetown would send a contingent, usually to run in the two-mile relay. One such relay was, I believe, in 1962, and Georgetown had the great Jack Reilly on the team that year. Among the teams in the two-mile relay that year were Holy Cross and Manhattan, which were highly ranked in the relay that year. Georgetown got off to a slow start, and when Jack received the baton, Georgetown was in third position, about 50 yards behind Manhattan and 40 yards behind Holy Cross. During the course of the race, Holy Cross passed Manhattan, but back on the track Jack was eating up the boards on his leg. In the last 50 yards, it was Holy Cross just in front of Manhattan with Jack rolling. During the final yards Jack went by the Manhattan anchor and was just outleaned by the Holy Cross runner. It was one of the most amazing anchors that I have ever seen.

Another episode at the Millrose games came again in 1962. It was on occasion of the first 16 foot pole vault. John Uelses came up with the historic vault. After the meet we saw some pole vaulters walking back to their hotels. They were easy to spot as they carried their poles the two or so blocks to their hotels. My uncle pointed to one of the vaulters, and he told us that that was John Uelses. My father and I were not so sure, but we left it to my uncle, and he went up to the vaulter and told him what a great meet he had, etc. The athlete said he didn’t have such a good meet, but my uncle convinced him otherwise and thought he was showing some false humility. The he had him autograph his program. When my uncle got back to us, he opened up his program, and low and behold, there on the cover was the autograph of John Rose. Apparently, it was not false humility, and my father and I kidded my uncle the rest of the evening.

After my uncle’s tenure at Georgetown, he followed his good friend, Father Joseph Sellinger to Loyola of Baltimore. But in the early ‘70s he left academia and became a chaplain at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. He enjoyed the desert climate and beauties of New Mexico, but never forgot that he was a Hoya. His license plate in New Mexico was HOYA. He died there, still working as the full time chaplain at the age of 86 in 2002.

Hoyas Section at the Millrose Games

The Hoyas will be competing at the 102nd Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on January 30th.

Plans are for the team to compete in the 4x800 relay against some of the country’s top programs. A new “Chairman of the Boards” might be crowned, as Bernard Lagat, the reigning World Champion at both the 1500 & 5000 meters will return to defend his Wanamaker Mile title. Lagat already has six Wanamaker victories. If he wins on January 30th, he will tie Eamonn Coghlan’s record of seven Wanamaker victories. We look forward to a large Georgetown turnout including alumni, parents, friends and fans. If you use promo code GEORGETOWN and choose either section 107&207, you’ll not only get discount on your tickets…you’ll be surrounded by other Georgetown fans all in the same area.

Special discounted tickets are available by using promotional code GEORGETOWN when contacting Ticketmaster (call (212)307-7171,
www.ticketmaster.com); For discounted Group tickets please contact Paul Moser moser@globalathletics.com. Take a moment to visit the event website, www.millrose-games.com, for more information, photos and videos.

Go Hoyas!