Jan. 18, 2008

Complete Meet Results

BRONX, N.Y.-- The highlights for Villanova at the NYC Gotham Cup on Friday came in the form of several individual qualifiers for the BIG EAST Championships next month. The link at the top of this release contains complete results for the meet. A full recap of the event will be available later this evening.

Senior Akilah Vargas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) won the 1000 meter run and Villanova had nine individuals qualify for the BIG EAST Championships next month on a very successful day at the NYC Gotham Cup on Friday at the New York Armory. Five of the nine conference qualifiers came in the 1000 meters, where Vargas paced 36 runners with a time of 2:52.97.

The Wildcats accounted for five of the top eight spots in the 1000 meter run, including the top three. Behind Vargas, freshman Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ontario) came in second with a time of 2:53.10 and junior Ellen Dougherty (Wading River, N.Y.) crossed third in 2:54.58. Additionally, freshman Alison Smith (Columbia, Md.) was fifth in 2:55.95 and classmate Callie Hogan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) posted a time of 2:57.47 to finish eighth.

Six of the nine individuals to qualify for the league championship were freshmen. First-year runners Amanda Marino (Jackson, N.J.) and Sarah Morrison (Chambersburg, Pa.) each earned a spot in the BIG EAST meet in the mile. Marino placed second out of 12 runners with a time of 4:58.46 and was just over two seconds off the winning pace. Morrison finished in sixth place with a time of 5:02.55.

Sophomore Theresa Rush (Malverne, N.Y.) registered a time of 10:04.00 in the 3000 meters to finish second out of 11 runners and round out the eight Villanova athletes who qualified for the BIG EAST meet in running events.

In the field events, freshman Colleen Knill (Littleton, Colo.) placed third in the pole vault with a top mark of 3.40 meters. That qualified her for the conference meet along with freshman Ashlyn Llerandi (Ridgewood, N.J.). Llerandi finished second in today's meet with a leap of 3.55 meters that matched her mark from the season-opening Jack Pyrah Invitational.

Among other highlights for the Wildcats, sophomore Mary Kate Phelan (Newton, Pa.) was one of 13 runners from a group of 60 to qualify for the finals in the 60 meter dash. She placed 11th in the finals with a time of 7.99 seconds after earning her spot with a season-best time of 7.97 in the preliminary heats.

A complete list of Villanova results appears via the link below.

All Villanova Reslts (PDF)