March 15, 1998
INDIANAPOLIS - Carmen Douma (So., Cambridge, Ontario) captured the national championship in the mile run last Saturday night at the 1998 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the RCA Dome. Also putting in exceptional performances for the Wildcats were two hurdlers, with Kareem Archer (Sr., Plainfield, N.J.) and Charmaine Walker (Fr., Plainfield, N.J.) both earning All-America honors in the 55m event.
Douma, who had posted the fastest qualifying mark in the country entering the meet, torched the competition with a championship run of 4:37.74. She was nearly two seconds ahead of runner-up Angela Graham of Boston College, who posted a time of 4:39.62.
Douma is the first Wildcat national champion in the mile since Vicki Huber captured the title in 1988 in a run of 4:31.36. In addition to Huber, she joins Villanova men's standouts Marty Liquori, Eamonn Coghlan, and Dave Patrick as national champions in the event. Douma's run is the 15th-fastest in the history of Villanova's women's track & field.
Archer earned his second career All-America award with a fourth-place effort in the 55m high hurdles. The senior posted a mark of 7.28 in the finals, to round out his final indoor campaign. Archer also competed in the 200m dash, posting a mark of 21.37 in the trials.
Another Plainfield native, Walker was impressive in her first-ever NCAA Championships performance. The rookie placed seventh overall in the 55m hurdles, running a time of 7.72 in the finals. She surpassed her career-best performance in the event with a run of 7.63 in the qualifying rounds.
Rounding out the Villanova competitors at this year's NCAA Indoor meet was Jermaine Deans (Jr., Kingston, Jamaica), who placed 10th overall in the triple jump with a mark of 51-04.50, and the women's distance medley relay squad. The quartet of Douma, Kristen Nicolini (Jr., Annapolis, Md.), Lony'e Johnson (So., Wilmington, Del.) and Leashia Rahr (So., Syracuse, N.Y.) posted a run of 11:35.25 to finish in 10th place.
NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 13-14, 1998 ~ RCA DomeIndianapolis, Ind.MEN'S TEAM SCORES 1. Arkansas 56; 2. Stanford 36.50; 3. Clemson, Washington State 26; 5. SMU 23; 6. Michigan 20; 7. South Carolina, Florida, Baylor, Georgia Tech 18; 11. Iowa 17; 12. UCLA 16.50; 13. Washington 16; 14. Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska 15; 17. Illinois 14; 18. Arizona 13; 19. LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, Colorado 10; 23. Wisconsin 9; 24. Texas, Missouri, Idaho, Kansas, Dartmouth, Colorado State, George Mason 8; 31. Northwestern State, TCU, Eastern Michigan 7; 34. Auburn, Brown, Houston, Indiana State, Oregon, Texas-Arlington 6; 40. Villanova, Cal State-Northridge, BYU, Kent State, Purdue 5; 45. Texas-El Paso, Mt. St. Mary's, BU, Long Beach State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Central Michigan 4.Villanova men's INDIVIDUAL Results(Finals Only)55m HH 4. Kareem Archer 7.28 (7.23 trials)Triple Jump10. Jermaine Deans 51-04.50women's team scores 1. Texas 60; 2. LSU 30; 3. Pittsburgh, Georgetown 26; 5. Michigan 24.50; 6. Florida 24; 7. SMU 23; 8. Georgia 21; 9. Wisconsin 20; 10. BYU 18.50; 11. South Carolina, Baylor 18; 13. Auburn 17; 14. PC 14; 15. Vanderbilt, Fresno State 13; 17. Villanova, Kansas 12; 19. UCLA, North Carolina 11; 21. Arizona, Texas A&M, Stanford, Kansas State 10; 25. Texas-El Paso, Colorado 9.VILLANOVA WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS(Finals Only)Mile1. Carmen Douma 4:37.74 (4:42.78 trials)55m Hurdles7. Charmaine Walker 7.72 (7.63 trials)DMR10. Villanova 11:35.25 (Nicolini, Rahr, Johnson, Douma)
