PRINCETON, N.J. - On the first full day of competition at the ECAC Championship, senior Alexandra Wasik (Medina, Ohio) got Villanova off to a terrific start by winning the title in the pole vault. She was one of several Wildcats who competed at Weaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Wasik won the pole vault with a height of 4.06 meters to top a field of 23 competitors. She entered the competition with the bar at 3.86 meters and was successful on her first attempt. The top nine competitors were still alive when the bar moved to 3.96 meters, but only Wasik and Jacilyn Briggs of Northeastern advanced from there. Wasik cleared 3.96 meters on her third and final try, while Briggs was successful on her first attempt at that height.

The bar then moved to 4.01 meters with Wasik and Briggs competing head-to-head. Wasik cleared the bar on her second attempt and Briggs on her third, with the bar raised to 4.06 meters after that. Wasik needed just one attempt to get over the bar at 4.06 meters and was the champion when Briggs missed on all three of her attempts. Senior Kathleen McPhillips (Carlisle, Pa.) finished ninth overall with a height of 3.86 meters.

Sophomore Carolina Hamilton (Nottingham, Pa.) competed in the javelin for Villanova and recorded a 20th place finish with a throw of 37.71 meters.

All of the running events that the Wildcats competed in on Saturday were preliminary heats and semifinals. Junior sprinter Shanice Grant (Kingston, Jamaica) advanced through the preliminaries and semifinals in the 100 meter hurdles to reach Sunday afternoon's final. She recorded a personal best time of 13.53 in the semifinals and is ranked second among the competitors that qualified for the final.

Grant won each of her heats in the 100 meter hurdles on Saturday afternoon. She finished first in the first preliminary heat with a time of 13.62 to automatically move on to the semifinals. Grant also competed in the first semifinal heat and was first across the finish line. Senior Emerald Walden (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) came in second in her preliminary heat and sixth overall with a time of 13.99 to reach the semifinals. She was seventh in her heat and 14th overall in the semifinals with a time of 14.25.

Senior Varonica Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) ran in the preliminaries of the 200 meters and automatically qualified for the final by winning her heat. She ranked third overall out of 23 competitors in the preliminaries with a time of 24.05.

Villanova also produced strong results in the preliminary rounds of the 800 meters and the 1500 meters. Freshman Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Dublin, Ireland) finished fifth overall out of 26 competitors in the preliminaries of the 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:05.66. She was the runner-up in her individual heat. Freshman Nicole Armstrong (Sydenham, Ont.) finished fourth overall in the preliminaries of the 1500 meters with a season-best time of 4:26.54 and advanced on time to the final by finishing second in her heat. Sophomore Julie Williams (Wilmington, Del.) finished 10th in her preliminary heat with a time of 4:56.69.

Sophomore Veronica Scott (Plymouth, N.H.) recorded a time of 1:02.91 in the 400 meter hurdles and finished seventh in her preliminary heat.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS
Saturday, May 16
ECAC Championship
Weaver Stadium
Day 1 of 2

100 Meter Hurdles - Preliminary Heats

Shanice Grant            2nd of 31         13.62            H1: 1stEmerald Walden           6th               13.99            H3: 2nd

100 Meter Hurdles - Semifinals

Shanice Grant            2nd of 16         13.53            H1: 1stEmerald Walden           14th              14.25            H1: 7th

200 Meters - Preliminary Heats

Varonica Johnson         3rd of 23         24.05            H1: 1st

400 Meter Hurdles - Preliminary Heats

Veronica Scott           25th of 32        1:02.91          H1: 7th

800 Meters - Preliminary Heats

Siofra Cleirigh Buttner  5th of 26         2:05.66          H3: 2nd

1500 Meters - Preliminary Heats

Nicole Armstrong         4th of 28         4:26.54          H3: 2ndJulie Williams           28th              4:56.69          H1: 10th

Pole Vault

Alexandra Wasik          1st of 23         4.06mKathleen McPhillips      9th               3.86m

Javelin

Caroline Hamilton        20th of 25        37.71m