PRINCETON, N.J. - Several middle distance runners produced strong results in the Elite sections of the 800 meters and the 1500 meters as Villanova started a busy weekend of competition at the Larry Ellis Invitational on Friday night. The top performers for the Wildcats in Friday's action at Weaver Stadium were freshman Ville Lampinen (Vantaa, Finland) in the 800 meters and sophomore Ben Malone (River Vale, N.J.) in the 1500 meters. In all, the Wildcats had athletes entered in six different events on the first day of the meet.

Lampinen raced to a 10th place finish out of 77 runners in the Elite section of the 800 meters. He tallied a time of 1:48.89 to match his result from the Hurricane Alumni Invitational earlier this month. Sophomore Ishmael Muhammad (Mays Landing, N.J.) registered a time of 1:51.02 and came in 21st in the 800 meters.

Villanova had three entries in the Elite section of the 1500 meters. Malone led that group by placing 11th overall out of 84 runners. He established a new personal best time by crossing the finish line in 3:44.66, eclipsing the time of 3:45.73 that he had recorded at the Colonial Relays earlier this year. Junior Josh Lampron (Mansfield, Mass.) finished in 19th place with a time of 3:47.35 and sophomore Elliot Slade (Cardiff, United Kingdom) was 21st with a personal best time of 3:48.26.

Sophomore Drake Johnston (Santa Monica, Calif.) also registered a personal best time on the night. He competed in the 3000 meter steeplechase and recorded a time of 9:27.16 to place 35th out of 46 entries in the event. Wildcats freshman Casey Comber, who is redshirting the outdoor season, ran in the steeplechase as an unaffiliated entry and recorded a time of 9:17.30 while finishing 22nd overall.

Villanova was led in the 5000 meters by senior Robert Hurlbut (Rochester, N.Y.), who finished 10th out of 88 competitors with a time of 14:28.77. The four entries for the Wildcats in the 5K were separated by only 25 seconds at the finish line. Junior Harry Warnick (Fairfield, Conn.) registered a time of 14:41.60 to finish 20th, while senior Tom Trainer (Havertown, Pa.) and junior Kevin Corbusier (Monkton, Md.) came in 30th (14:53.66) and 33rd (14:54.17), respectively. Freshman Paul Power was an unattached runner in the race and finished with a time of 15:24.17.

Two athletes competed in the field events and sophomore James Deutmeyer (Rye, N.Y.) had a big night in the pole vault. He matched his collegiate best mark by clearing the bar at a height of 4.85 meters, equaling his result at the same venue from the Princeton Open last season. Deutmeyer tied for sixth place out of 13 entries. Freshman Jack Judge (Palisades, N.Y.) finished 16th in the javelin with a throw of 49.91 meters.

Villanova will have athletes in competition at the Larry Ellis meet as well as the Virginia Challenge and the Widener Invitational on Saturday.

NOTES: Former Villanova athletes Samuel Ellison and Mike Palmisano were among the competitors at the Larry Ellis meet on Friday night ââ'¬Â¦ Ellison, a seven-time All-American during his Wildcats career, ran in the same section of the 800 meters as Lampinen ââ'¬Â¦ He finished fifth overall with a time of 1:48.19.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS
Larry Ellis Invitational (Day 1 of 2)
No Team Scoring

800 METERS (Elite Section)

Ville Lampinen                    10th of 77            1:48.89Ishmael Muhammad                  21st                  1:51.02

1500 METERS (Elite Section)

Ben Malone                        11th of 84            3:44.66Josh Lampron                      19th                  3:47.35Elliot Slade                      21st                  3:48.26

3000 METER STEEPLECHASE

Drake Johnston                    35th of 46            9:27.16
Casey Comber (Unaffiliated)       22nd                  9:17.30

5000 METERS

Robert Hurlbut                    10th of 88            14:28.77Harry Warnick                     20th                  14:41.60Tom Trainer                       30th                  14:53.66Kevin Corbusier                   33rd                  14:54.17
Paul Power (Unattached)           69th                  15:24.17

POLE VAULT

James Deutmeyer                   tie-6th of 13         4.85m

JAVELIN

Jack Judge                        16th of 24            49.91m