Women's Track Team Earns Sixth Place in the Big East Conference Championships

Douma, McGranahan and Walker capture individual titles.

May 5, 1998

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Carmen Douma (So., Cambridge, Ontario), Ann McGranahan (Fr., Pensacola, Fla.) and Charmaine Walker (Fr., Plainfield, N.J.) each won individual league championships at the Big East Conference Championships, held May 1-3, 1998, at the Jumbo Elliott Track on the campus of Villanova University.

Douma, a three-time All-American, put in another inspired performance this past weekend, capturing the individual crown in the 1500m and earning runner-up honors in the 800m. The sophomore posted provisional NCAA times in both events, clocking in with personal-bests of 4:20.97 in the 1500m and 2:06.31 in the 800m. In addition, she fueled the Wildcats' 3200m relay team to a third-place finish with an incredible run as the anchor during the weekend. Douma was joined by Lony'e Johnson (So., Wilmington, Del.), Geraldine McCarthy (Fr., Listowel, Ireland) and Kristen Nicolini (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) on that relay that recorded a time of 8:54.21.

Walker was impressive as well, capturing the 100m hurdles championship with a run of 13.39 to outdistance Miami's Patrina Allen. Walker was an All-American and Big East Champion in the indoor 55m hurdles earlier this season.

McGranahan won her first-ever Big East Championship with a strong showing in the 10,000m, posting a time of 35:07.54 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA meet in the event. The rookie also placed fifth in the 5000m with a time of 17:02.22, competing in the two grueling races on back-to-back days.

Tamieka Grizzle (So., Bronx, N.Y.) was another Wildcat who showed well over the weekend, as the All-American competed in three events. Grizzle finished second to Douma in the 1500m, posting a career-fast time of 4:23.39 in the event to provisionally qualify for the NCAAs. Additionally, she placed seventh in the 800m and ran a leg of the Wildcats' fifth-place 1600m relay.

Sarah Hunt (So., Langhorne, Pa.) continued to be the Wildcats' mainstay in the throwing events. Hunt recorded a third-place throw in the discus, sixth-place finish in the hammer, and 11th-place effort in the shot put throughout the meet. Her mark of 148-7.00 in the discus is a personal-best and qualifies her for the ECAC meet at the end of the month.

In addition to her effort on the 3200m relay team, Nicolini posted an extremely strong showing. The junior transfer finished fifth in the 3000m and sixth in the 5000m. Her time of 9:38.53 in the 3000m was an NCAA provisional time.

Villanova finished sixth overall in the meet in the team competition with 81 points, with Miami winning its first-ever Big East title with 134 points.

1998 Big East Championships
May 1-3, 1998 -- Villanova University
Jumbo Elliott Track -- Villanova, Pa.

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Miami 134; 2. Pittsburgh 92; 3. Seton Hall 89; 4. Georgetown 85; 5. St. John's 82; 6. Villanova 81; 7. Rutgers 76; 8. West Virginia 48; 9. Syracuse 42; 10. Providence 38; 11. Boston College 35.50; 12. Notre Dame 33.50; 13. Connecticut 20. 

VILLANOVA WOMEN'S RESULTS


100m Hurdles
1.  Charmaine Walker 	13.39$ (13.45 trials)


400m Hurdles
11. Leashia Rahr	1:01.62


800m
2.  Carmen Douma	2:06.31$ (2:09.63 trials)
7.  Tamieka Grizzle	2:10.25* (2:09.79 trials)
26. Jessica Franks	2:18.54
37. Susan Billings	2:32.14


1500m
1.  Carmen Douma	4:20.97$ (4:33.33 trials)
2.  Tamieka Grizzle	4:23.39$ (4:37.70 trials)
11. Geraldine McCarthy	4:44.13 (4:38.12 trials)


3000m
5.  Kristen Nicolini	9:38.53$
14. Geraldine McCarthy	10:36.29


5000m
5.  Ann McGranahan	17:02.22*
6.  Kristen Nicolini	17:04.37


10,000m
1.  Ann McGranahan	35:07.54$
9.  Katie Blackett	36:48.63


1600m Relay
5.  Villanova	3:43.28
      (Walker, Grizzle, Franks, Rahr)		


3200m Relay
3.  Villanova	8:54.21
     (Johnson, McCarthy, Nicolini, Douma)


Long Jump
7.  Marlena Robinson	19-0.50*


Heptathlon
8.  April Kottles	3460


Discus
3.  Sarah Hunt	148-7.00*
12. Melissa Guinivan	114-5.00


Hammer
6.  Sarah Hunt	157-3.00*


Shot Put
11. Sarah Hunt	38-11.50


Pole Vault
10. April Kottles	7-0.50


Javelin
12. Jen Papay	108-6.00


$NCAA Provisional qualifying mark
@NCAA Automatic qualifying mark
*ECAC/IC4A Qualifying mark
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