Feb. 24, 2008

Complete Results

Complete Villanova Results (Day 2)
Overall Day 2 Results
Complete Big East Results (Days 1-2)

NEW YORK -- Senior Akilah Vargas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) won her third career conference title by placing first in the 800 meter run and Villanova turned in 12 top-eight individual finishes at the BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships at the New York Armory. The Wildcats placed fourth in the team standings with 75 total points and freshman Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ontario) posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 3000 meters.

Vargas rated seventh in the preliminary heats of the 800 meters yesterday and senior teammate Arusha McKenzie (Kingston, Jamaica) was first. The pair produced a one-two finish on Sunday, as Vargas crossed in 2:09.63 and was followed by McKenzie in close pursuit at 2:10.51.

In the finals of the 1000 meter run, freshman Alison Smith (Columbia, Md.) and junior Ellen Dougherty (Wading River, N.Y.) finished second and third, respectively, after coming in third and fourth in Saturday's prelims. Smith registered a time of 2:50.09 and Dougherty a mark of 2:50.64 in the finals.

The back-to-back places in both the 800 meters and 1000 meters were the individual highlights for Villanova, while a team highlight came in the 4x800 meter relay. The Wildcats finished second out of 14 teams in the event with a time of 8:58.05 and came in behind only Georgetown.

Villanova athletes competed in the finals of five events that had preliminary heats on Saturday as well as in six events held in their entirety on Sunday. Reid lowered her season-best time in the 3000 meter run by more than 12 seconds and placed fourth out of 21 entries in 9:29.87. That mark gives Reid two events (also the mile) in which she has provisional NCAA Championships qualifying times.

In the 400 meters, freshman Jessona McDonald (Queens, N.Y.) and Kristen Mahon (Robbinsville, N.J.) posted back-to-back finishes in fifth and sixth place, respectively. McDonald crossed in 56.11 and Mahon was right behind in 56.16.

The Wildcats also had two point scorers in the top-8 in the 500 meters, where sophomore Makalia Griffith (Jamaica, N.Y.) and junior Jordan Sarruda (Washington Township, N.J.) placed fourth and eighth, respectively. Griffith posted a time of 1:12.62 and Sarruda checked in at 1:14.45.

Freshman Sarah Morrison (Chambersburg, Pa.) led a contingent of four Wildcat athletes in the mile with a fifth-place finish out of 12 competitors. Her time was 4:56.74, while fellow freshman Amanda Marino (Jackson, N.J.) came in seventh with a mark of 4:59.60.

Freshman Audrey Gariepy-Bogui (Potomac, Md.) placed eighth in the finals of the 60 meter hurdles (8.73).

The other team result for the Wildcats came in the 4x400 meter relay, where Villanova finished fifth out of 12 teams with a time of 3:45.60.

In the team standings, the Wildcats finished behind Connecticut, Georgetown and Louisville and narrowly beat out Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

See the links at the top of this release for complete Villanova results from Sunday's action and for the entire results from the conference meet this weekend.

Remaining on the indoor schedule this season are the ECAC Championship on March 8-9 and the NCAA Championships on March 14-15. Members of the Wildcat team will also compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame on March 7-8.