May 7, 2000
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova women's track & field team captured the 2000 Big East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship held at the Bauer Track Complex on the campus of Rutgers University. After the three-day competition, Villanova finished with 118 points to outdistance second place Miami who amassed 103 points.
The championship is Villanova's eighth Big East outdoor title and first since 1997. Villanova also garnered the 2000 indoor Big East Conference team title held last February in Syracuse, N.Y..
After posting three individual titles on Saturday, May 6, the Wildcats recorded three more individual championships on Sunday, May 7 to help propel them to the championship.
Senior Carrie Tollefson (Dawson, Minn.) won her second title in as many days, as she ran 16:56.14 to win the 5,000 meter run. Tollefson finishes her Big East career with 10 individual championships.
In the 100 meter hurdles, junior Charmaine Walker (Plainfield, N.J.) ran strong from start to finish to win with a time of 13.01. Walker's time eclipsed the meet record, but she will not be credited with the record because it exceeded the allowable wind-aided mark by .5. Walker also ran the 100 meter dash where she was seventh in 11.95.
Villanova's third individual champion of the day was Carmen Douma (Cambridge, Ontario) who ran to victory in the 1,500 meter run in a time of 4:22.67. Douma now has 10 Big East individual titles to her credit. After winning the 1,500 meter run, Douma returned to the track an hour later to record a seventh place finish in the 800 meter run in a time of 2:11.42.
Villanova also got strong performances from Leashia Rahr (Syracuse, N.Y.) who placed second in the 400 meter hurdles in a clocking of 1:00.93 and junior Ann McGranahan (Pensacola, Fla.) who ran a strong race to finish third in the 5,000 meter run. McGranahan was credited with a time of 17:16.94. On Saturday, McGranahan won the 10,000 meter title in a time of 36:10.33.
Also scoring points for Villanova on the track were senior Kristen Nicolini (Annapolis, Md.) and freshman Sheila Klick (Lansdowne, Pa.) who placed sixth and seventh respectively in the 1,500 meter run. Nicolini registered a time of 4:31.04, while Klick was clocked in 4:32.33.
The Wildcats also received a quality contribution in the field events, as senior Sarah Hunt (Langhorne, Pa.) and sophomore Melinda Boykin (Bridgeton, N.J.) tallied points in the hammer throw. Hunt recorded a throw of 50.70m to earn a fifth place finish, while Boykin had a mark of 49.16m to finish seventh.
For their efforts in leading the Wildcats to the team championship, head coach Marcus O'Sullivan and his assistants, Jim Tuppeny, Gina Procaccio, Antony Williams and George Reynolds were named Big East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Staff of the Year. The Wildcat coaching staff received the same honor at the Big East indoor meet.
