Georgetown Prep Hosts Track Stars at Hoya Invitational

Famed track coach Frank Gagliano, referred to by some as “the Godfather of track and field,” made the journey down from New York on Friday with an assortment of professional runners working under his tutelage to compete in the inaugural Hoya Invitational track meet at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda.

It was the first meet of the season for Gagliano’s stable of championship runners, but the athletes showed remarkable poise and skill as they put on a display in front of four collegiate institutions also participating in the meet.

Georgetown University — which Gagliano coached until the late 1990’s — was joined by Howard, Richmond and William & Mary at the meet. In addition to the athletes on Gagliano’s team, named the New Jersey/New York track club, a group of other professionals representing New Balance, Puma and Asics were on hand to add depth to the competition.    

The homecoming for Gagliano seemed long overdue, and the meet gave the humble mentor a time to bask in the glory and respect of the Washington, D.C. running community.

“It feels great to be back in Washington,” Gagliano said. “When Pat and Chris [the current coaches of Georgetown’s track team] called me to come down here I was thrilled. I spent 18 years here and I haven’t been back in a while, so I’m very happy to be back in DC and a part of this event.”

The Hoya Invitational is the first home track meet in over a decade for Georgetown, as the lack of an on-campus facility has prevented the team from playing host to an event. Georgetown Prep’s indoor track, described by Gagliano as “a beautiful facility,” proved more than adequate for the Hoyas’ nationally-ranked team, as well as Gagliano’s club.

The 200-meter flat track indeed provided an excellent venue for the event, but the times were somewhat slowed by the lack of an elevated perimeter — a so-called banked track, which is prevalent among most leading collegiate and professional facilities.

Georgetown runner Ayalew Taye won the men’s mile with a time of 4:08.82, a Big East Championship qualifying time. Former Hoya Liam Boylan-Pett, now running with Gagliano’s New Jersey/New York Track Club, won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.55. The Hoyas also took both first and second in the men’s 4-x-400 meter relay.

In a star-studded 1,000-meter run on the women’s side, Marina Muncan, a standout from Villanova, won the event, with former teammate Frances Koons finishing in second place. Former Hoya and four-time All-American Elizabeth Maloy took third place with a time of 2:49.69. She was followed by current Hoya and three-time All-American Renee Tomlin.

For Gagliano and his team, the meet seemed well worth the four-hour train ride from New York.

“I’m very happy with the results,” Gagliano said. “For being the first race of the season, I think everyone did a tremendous job.”

As Gagliano heads back home to New York, the Hoyas will now take two weeks off before traveling to their next meet at Penn State on Jan. 28.