Feb. 18, 1998

On February 21-22, 1998, the Villanova men's and women's track and field squads will head to Syracuse, N.Y., to compete in the Big East Conference Indoor Championships. The Carrier Dome, on the campus of Syracuse University, has been the site of the championship since its inaugural year for men in 1980 and women in 1983. Last year, the Villanova women won their 10th team title, scoring 116 points, to pull ahead of second-place Georgetown with 110 points. The Wildcat men placed sixth at last year's Big East Indoor meet.

John Marshall's Wildcat women will be led by its usual strong corps of distance runners. Carmen Douma (So., Cambridge, Ontario) has come into her own in her second season on the Main Line and currently ranks second in the league in the mile and third in the 3000m. She also returns to defend her 1997 indoor Big East title in the distance medley relay. Douma teams up with Leashia Rahr (So., Syracuse, N.Y.), Kristen Nicolini (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) and Tamieka Grizzle (So., Bronx, N.Y.) in the event. The quartet has already run an NCAA provisional time (11:20.29) and should be one of the strongest entries at the conference meet. Nicolini also rates as a strong contender in the mile run, while Grizzle returns to defend her 1997 league championship in the 800m.

Ann McGranahan (Fr., Pensacola, Fla.) has begun her career in fine fashion, posting the second-fastest time in the Big East in the 5000m event this season, while Kristine Jost (Jr., Kent Island, Md.) is a league leader in the 3000m. Jost, coming off a redshirt season in cross country, was the 1997 National Champion in the 3000m.

Looking to make an impact in her first-ever conference competition, Marlena Robinson (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) has dominated the triple jump this season, winning the individual title in all four events entered. She set a Villanova school record in the triple jump in the first meet of her career, posting a mark of 40-6 in December.

On the men's side, two natives of Jamaica should steal the spotlight. Kareem Archer (Sr., Plainfield, N.J.) rates as the Big East's best hurdler and is already a provisional qualifier in the event. Archer, an All-American in the outdoor 400m hurdles, looks to win his first-ever indoor 55m hurdles championship. Jermaine Deans (Junior, Kingston, Jamaica) is the league leader in the triple jump, recording a mark of 50-4 this year.

Other Wildcats to watch are Coulby Dunn (Jr., Greentown, Pa.) in the distance events and Greg Young (So., Wilmington, Mass.) in the 400m and 800m events. Dunn posted a time of 8:19.98 in the 3000m, while Young ran 49.03 in the 400m and 1:56.63 in the 800m to pace the Wildcats. Dean Smith (So., Phoenix, Md.) rates as Villanova's best miler to date, registering a time of 4:09.4 earlier this season.

Villanova sent a limited number of competitors to the Cannon IV Classic at Butler University last weekend, with Archer winning his heat of the 60m hurdles and the women's distance medley relay squad finishing fourth overall. Grizzle and Nicolini also ran in the 800m and mile, respectively, and put in strong showings.