March 9, 2008

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - On the weekend before selections are announced for the NCAA Championships later this months, senior Akilah Vargas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lowered her NCAA provisional qualifying time in the mile run by more than five seconds in the Alex Wilson Invitational at Loftus Arena this Saturday.

Vargas posted a time of 4:40.90 to finish fifth out of 29 runners in the event. That time was just 0.9 seconds over the NCAA automatic time and gives Vargas an excellent chance of being advancing to the national championship meet. She improved on her previous season best time of 4:46.27 that she ran at the Penn State National Open in January by a margin of 5.37 seconds.

Wildcat freshman Alison Smith (Columbia, Md.) also ran in the Alex Wilson meet and placed 23rd in the mile with a time of 4:58.84.

The selections for the 2008 national championship meets will be announced on Monday. Villanova's provisional qualifiers include Vargas in the mile, freshman Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ontario) in the mile and the 3000 meters, and a Villanova entry in the distance medley relay.