March 10, 1998

1998 NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
MARCH 13-14, 1998 ~ RCA DOME ~ INDIANAPOLIS, IND.

Villanova University head men's and women's track and field coach John Marshall will send seven individuals to Indianapolis for the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships, held March 13-14, 1998, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind.

Representing Villanova at the national meet this season will be two men and five women competing in four individual events and one relay.

Kareem Archer (Sr., Plainfield, N.J.) looks to close out his indoor season in fine style, earning an NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 55m high hurdles and a provisional mark in the 200m. The senior is fresh from his best performance of all time in the 55m HH, running a time of 7.23 at the IC4A Championships to finish second overall. His effort, a personal-best, ranks among the best ever at Villanova in the event, and is the fastest since Martin Booker ran 7.23 at the Big East Championships in 1986. Archer also placed second in the 55m HH at the Big East Championships, and earned the league's individual title in the 200m in a run of 21.18.

Jermaine Deans (Jr., Kingston, Jamaica) is making a name for himself in the Wildcat jumping annals, and will be competing in his first-ever NCAA Championships. The five-foot-11 Deans has already established himself as one of the finest triple jumpers in Villanova history, winning the 1997 Big East Outdoor Championship and 1998 Big East Indoor Championship in the event. His 1998 title was even more impressive based on the fact that he had been in the school's infirmary the entire week prior to the competition due to chicken pox. Not to be denied, Deans flew to Syracuse for the league meet on the day of his release, and finished second in the long jump in 24-3.50 and won the triple in a leap of 51-6.5. He was named the meet's Most Outstanding Field Performer for his efforts. Last week, he continued to impress, winning the IC4A individual title in the triple jump in a personal-best 52-10.0, automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. His jump is the longest by a Wildcat since the 1979 season when Nate Cooper set a school record with a mark of 56-1.5 at the NCAA Championships.

Carmen Douma (So., Cambridge, Ontario) earned All-America honors during the cross country season, placing sixth overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, and has continued on that same impressive pace throughout her indoor season. Douma, an NCAA qualifier in the mile, did not finish any lower than third in the event all season. In addition, she anchors the Wildcat NCAA-qualifying distance medley relay (11:20.29), running the 1600m leg of the event. Douma is coming off an ECAC-champion effort in the mile last weekend, running a personal-best 4:37.36 to automatically qualify for the national meet. That time is the fastest in the country this season, and her effort ranks her as the fourth-best Villanova woman in the event of all time. Douma also placed third in the mile at the Big East Championships and earned the league individual title in the 1000m, earning a time of 2:48.22.

Running with Douma on the DMR will be Kristen Nicolini (Jr., Annapolis, Md.), Leashia Rahr (So., Syracuse, N.Y.) and Tamieka Grizzle (So., Bronx, N.Y.). Nicolini, a transfer from Auburn University in her first season on the Main Line, had an outstanding indoor campaign for Marshall. Nicolini will run the 1200m leg of the race, and finished third in the mile run at the ECAC Championships and fifth in the 1000m at the Big East meet. Her fastest mile time came at ECACs, where she clocked in at 4:50.04. Rahr will hold down the 400m leg of the DMR, and proved to be Villanova's most reliable sprinter throughout the indoor season. Grizzle, meanwhile, will run the 800m leg of the DMR. She is an All-America in the event, running on Villanova's seventh-place NCAA team a year ago.

Ann McGranahan (Fr., Pensacola, Fla.) is Villanova's final individual NCAA qualifier, and is expected to compete in the 5000m despite being hampered by an injury in recent weeks. McGranahan's mark of 16:23.05 at the Terrier Classic in early February rates as one of the fastest times in the country this season. She also placed third in the event at the Big East Championships, getting her collegiate career off to a fine start.

1998 Villanova NCAA Qualifiers

Name                Class   Height  Event       Mark        Hometown
Kareem Archer       Senior  6-3     55m HH      7.23        Plainfield, N.J.
Jermaine Deans      Junior  5-11    Triple Jump 52-10.0     Kingston, Jamaica
Carmen Douma        Soph.   5-7     Mile        4:37.36     Cambridge, Ontario
                                    DMR         11:20.29
Tamieka Grizzle     Soph.   5-6     DMR         11:20.29    Bronx, N.Y.
Ann McGranahan      Fresh.  5-6     5000m       16:23.05    Pensacola, Fla.
Kristen Nicolini    Junior  5-8     DMR         11:20.29    Annapolis, Md.
Leashia Rahr        Soph.   5-2     DMR         11:20.29    Syracuse, N.Y.