April 25, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - On the second day of competition at the 114th running of the Penn Relays, the Villanova men and women both tallied third place finishes. The women's 4x1500 meter relay team placed third behind Michigan and Stanford, while the men's DMR squad finished third behind Texas and Stanford.

The men's DMR team gave a valiant effort but came up just short. Texas won the event for the third straight year with a time of 9:32.89 with Stanford second in 9:33.16 and Villanova third in 9:34.39. Georgetown placed fourth in 9:35.52, while La Salle was fifth in 9:37.15. Senior Michael Kerrigan led off for Villanova and ran his 1200m leg in 2:56.7, before handing off to sophomore Garrett Kroner who turned in a 47.2 second split in the 400m part of the race. Villanova's 800m leg was recorded by junior Sean Tully who was credited with a 1:51.2 split.

Senior Bobby Curtis was the anchor for the Wildcats and ran an impressive anchor leg of 3:59.3. Curtis made up significant ground over the first 800 meters and made a late move with 200 meters to go before coming up just short down the stretch. Curtis and the Wildcats will return to the track at the Penn Relays on Saturday when they are scheduled to participate in the 4x800 meter Championship of America at 4:50 p.m.

In women's action, the Wildcat 4x1500m team posted a time of 17:47.01 to place third behind Michigan and Stanford. The Wolverines ran 17:28.98 to win the race, while the Cardinal was clocked in 17:29.12.

Freshman Callie Hogan ran leadoff for Villanova and ran 4:30.5, before handing the baton to senior Akilah Vargas who registered a 4:27.0 leg. Senior Liz Haglund recorded a time of 4:30.9 on the third leg. On the anchor, senior Frances Koons was timed in 4:18.6. Koons took the baton in sixth place and was able to make-up three spots during her leg.