Feb. 20, 2001

At the Big East indoor track & field championships held at the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University, the Villanova men tallied 75 points to place sixth, while the Wildcat women scored 57 points to finish eighth. Georgetown captured both the men's and women's team championships, with the Hoya men recording 130.50 points and the women registering 111 points.

Three different Wildcats claimed Big East individual titles on the men's side. In the 60 meter hurdles, junior Antoine Johnson (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) ran 7.92 to claim his first Big East championship. Johnson easily outdistanced Gus Martin of Miami who was timed in 8.06. In the mile run, freshman Ryan Hayden (Richmond, Canada) continued his outstanding running by finishing first with a time of 4:10.08. Georgetown's Chris Miltenberg was second in 4:10.43. Villanova junior Dan Tantino (North Wales, Pa.) was eighth in the event in 4:17.60. Senior Mike Brown (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) was Villanova's third champion, as he won the 400 meter dash with a clocking of 47.61. Nick Reynolds of Georgetown finished second to Brown in 47.79.

In the 3,000 meter run, senior Dean Smith (Baltimore, Md.) ran an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8:10.74 to finish third, while sophomore Jon Fasulo (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) was seventh in 8:18.32. Three other point scorers for Villanova included the freshmen duo of Jason Jabaut (Peru, N.Y.) and Paul Moser (Copiogue, N.Y.) and sophomore Brian Anderson (Avon Lake, Ohio). Jabaut and Anderson were sixth and seventh respectively in the 1,000 meter run. Jabaut was timed in 2:28.42, while Anderson crossed the line in 2:30.10. Moser ran 1:04.91 to earn a sixth place effort in the 500 meter dash.

Leading the way for the Villanova women were senior Charmaine Walker (Plainfield, N.J.) and freshman Rebecca Mitchell (Geneva, Ill.). Walker captured the 60 meter hurdle championship for the second-straight year with a time of 8.17. Walker's time automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Championships to be held March 9-10 at the University of Arkansas. Mitchell was sensational in her first Big East Championship, running 2:48.28 to win the 1,000 meter run. Elizabeth Rocks of Pittsburgh finished just behind Mitchell in 2:48.92.

Seniors Geraldine McCarthy (Listowel, Ireland) and Ann McGranahan (Pensacola, Fla.) each tallied eighth place finishes. McCarthy ran 4:58.65 to place eighth in the mile run, while McGranahan was eighth in the 3,000 meter run in 9:48.01.

In the shot put event, Villanova received contributions from junior Melinda Boykin (Bridgeton, N.J.) and sophomore Christine Heffernan (Springfield, Pa.). Boykin was fifth with a toss of 13.77m, while Heffernan was sixth with a mark of 13.53m. Also scoring points for the Wildcats was the 4x800 meter relay team of Mitchell, McCarthy, freshman Melanie Rhoden (Ewing, N.J.) and sophomore Sheila Klick (Lansdowne, Pa.). The four teamed to run 9:08.11 and finish fifth.

MEN'S SCORES

1. Georgetown 130.50

2. Seton Hall 90

3. Notre Dame 83

4. Connecticut 79

5. Pittsburgh 77.50

6. VILLANOVA 75

7. West Virginia 46

8. Miami 39

9. Rutgers 39

10. Virginia Tech 38

11. Providence 34

12. St. John's 27

13. Syracuse 12

14. Boston College 9

WOMEN'S SCORES

1. Georgetown 111

2. Pittsburgh 94

3. Miami 86

4. West Virginia 84.50

5. Seton Hall 68

6. Connecticut 58

7. Notre Dame 57.50

8. VILLANOVA 57

9. Boston College 54

10. Rutgers 35

11. St. John's 35

12. Syracuse 16

13. Providence 12

14. Virginia Tech 10