April 26, 2001

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Villanova Track & Field

at the

107th running of thePenn Relays

Thursday-Saturday, April 26-28, 2001

Penn Relay's Schedule of Events

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2001

10:00 a.m.	Women's 400 hurdles (Melanie Rhoden)

12:35 p.m.	Women's DMR

1:45 p.m.	Women's Shot Put	(Melinda Boykin)

3:15 p.m.	Women's Javelin	(Christine Heffernan)

6:30 p.m.	Men's 3,000m Steeplechase (Geoff Nickerson)

6:50 p.m.	Women's 3,000 meter run (Carre Joyce)

7:25 p.m.	Women's 5,000 meter run (Kara Kerr)

7:45 p.m.	Men's 5,000 meter run (Ray Biersbach)

8:05 p.m.	Men's 5,000 meter run (Pat Dunn)


FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2001

11:50 a.m.	Men's 4x100m Relay  heats

12:00 p.m.	Men's shot put (Mark Blattner)

12:30 p.m.	Women's Triple Jump (Marlena Robinson)

12:40 p.m.	Men's DMR

1:50 p.m.	Women's 4x1500m relay

3:10 p.m.	Men's 110m hurdle heats (Antoine Johnson)

3:20 p.m.	Women's 100m hurdle heats (Charmaine Walker, Sherese Price)

4:55 p.m.	Men's 4x400m relay


SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2001

9:10 a.m. 	Men's 400m hurdle finals (Mike Brown)

11:00 a.m.	Men's Javelin (Barry Flicker)

12:15 p.m.	Men's hammer Throw (Mark Blattner)

12:40 p.m.	Men's 4 x mile

3:35 p.m.	Women's 100m hurdle finals

3:40 p.m.	Men's 110m hurdle finals

Meet Notes:

PENN RELAY SUCCESS: Since the Villanova women's track & field team began competing at the Penn Relays in 1979, the Wildcat women have won 26 Penn Relay plaques, which is the most by any women's team in the history of the meet. The Villanova women have won 22 times in the last 13 years, capturing 22 of the 37 races they have entered. From 1987-95, the Villanova women won at least one Championship of America race. Overall, the women have won eight of the last 11 4x1500m relay titles, seven of the last 13 4x800m titles and eight of the last 14 DMR championships. On the men's side, the Wildcats have won more relay titles than any other school with a total of 87. The Villanova men last won a Penn Relay Championship of America in 1993 (4x1500m Relay).

NEW LEADERSHIP: The Villanova women will be guided at this year's Penn Relays by Gina Procaccio who was named head coach of the Wildcat women on June 7, 2000. Procaccio replaces Marcus O'Sullivan who is now Villanova's Director of Track & Field/Cross Country and the head coach of the Villanova men's cross country/track & field programs. Prior to being elevated to head coach, Procaccio served as a Villanova assistant from 1994-97 and then from 1998-2000. In her last two years as an assistant, Procaccio helped lead Villanova distance runners to five NCAA individual championships and All-American honors on 13 occasions.

KNOWING WHAT IT TAKES: Villanova head men's track coach Marcus O'Sullivan and Wildcat women's track head coach Gina Procaccio both know what it takes to win at the Penn Relays. During his four-year Main Line career (1980-84), O'Sullivan was a part of six Penn Relay Championship of America winning relay teams. Procaccio transferred to Villanova for her senior year in 1987 and was a member of the winning DMR team. The duo have also won numerous individual races at the Penn Relays. At the Penn Relays press conference on Monday, April 23, O'Sullivan had this to say about the Relays -- "This is our back yard. When you run at home, be it good, bad or indifferent, you have to show up. With Villanova and the Penn Relays, the expectations are far above what the normality is. Once you understand it, you can do it. It's amazing. This is where I grew up."

CONCENTRATING ON TWO: The Villanova men and women will each run in two relays at this year's Penn Relays Carnival. The men will run in the DMR (Friday/12:40 p.m.) and the 4 x mile (Saturday/12:40 p.m.), while the women will compete in the DMR (Thursday/12:35 p.m.) and the 4 x 1500 (Friday/ 1:50 p.m.).

IT'S BEEN A WHILE: The Villanova men have not won a Championship of America relay since 1993 when they captured the 6000m relay. In the program's history, the Wildcats have won the DMR at the Penn Relays 21 times including a stretch from 1966-81 when they won 16-straight DMR's at Penn. However, the `Cats have not won the DMR at Franklin Field since 1981.

A LOOK BACK: At last year's Penn Relays, the Villanova women won the 4 x 1500 meter relay with a time of 17:30.30. Runners on that team included Liz Awtrey, Carrie Tollefson, Kristen Nicolini and Caremen Douma. Of the four runners, only Awtrey was not lost to graduation. Now a sophomore, Awtrey will run on this year's DMR and 4 x 1500 meter relay teams. The women's DMR squad placed third at last year's relays.

YOUNG GUNS: Three of the four members of this year's Villanova men's DMR team are all currently competing in their first season of collegiate track. Two of the three are freshmen including Ryan Hayden (Richmond, Canada) and Jason Jabaut (Peru, N.Y.), while Adrian Blincoe is a sophomore from Auckland, New Zealand running collegiatley for the first time. The fourth member of the team is senior Mike Brown (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) who won the 400 meter hurdles at last year's Penn Relays. Jabaut finished third at the Penn Relays last season in the high school mile. The team that Villanova puts together to run the men's 4 x mile relay may be just as young. Hayden and Blincoe will definitely be on the relay with the last two spots to be announced Friday night.

INEXPERIENCE: Like the Villanova men, the Wildcat women are extremely young this season. The women's DMR team will consist of thre freshmen (Rebecca Mitchell, Renne Guning and Melanie Rhoden) and one sophomore (Liz Awtrey). Awtrey ran the leadoff leg on Villanova's 6,000 meter relay squad that won the 2000 Penn Relays. As a high school senior last year, Gunning won the mile at the Penn Relays. Gunning, Mitchell and Awtrey will join senior Ann McGranahan on Villanova's 4 x 1500 meter relay team. Last year, seven of the eight runners who were on the DMR and 4 x 1500 meter relay teams were seniors.

HONORING TUPP: The Villanova track & field program will wear black ribbons on their jerseys this weekend at the Penn Relays in honor of longtime assistant coach Jim Tuppeny who passed away on November 29 from heart failure due to complications from stomach cancer. The last time the entire Villanova team wore black ribbons was at the 1982 Penn Relays in honor of legendary head coach Jumbo Elliott. All total, Tuppeny served as a track & field coach for 52 years, including 13 years as the head track & field/cross country coach at the University of Pennsylvania. Tuppeny is probably best remembered for his association with the the Penn Relays. He served as the Relays Director from 1970-1987. Beginning this year, the Penn Relays women's DMR will be named in honor of Tuppeny.

YOUNG GUNS: Sophomore Adrian Blincoe and freshman Ryan Hayden have had an outstanding year for head coach Marcus O'Sulivan and the Wildcats. At the NCAA cross country championships this past fall, Blincoe placed ninth, while Hayden tallied a 29th place effort which was the third highest finish by a freshman. During the indoor season, Blincoe was second in the 3,000 meter run at the NCAA Championships and Hayden was seventh in the mile. Thus far this year in outdoor track, Blincoe has run 3:42.71 in the 1,500 meter run with Hayden's best time in the event at 3:43.14.

WALL OF FAME: Former Villanova track & field standout John Hartnett will be one of four individuals who will be inducted into the Penn Relay Wall of Fame. Joining the four individuals will be four relay teams. With this addition of this year's class, there are now 47 individuals and 37 relay teams that are in the Penn Relays Wall of Fame. Hartnett, a 1974 Villanova graduate, was the Outstanding College Athlete of the 1973 Penn Relays whe he ran a leg on three championship relay teams including the two ile relay, the four mile relay and the DMR. During his three-year Penn Relay career, Hartnett's team won the DMR all three times with Hartnett running the anchor leg each year. In 1974, he ran the anchor leg on the Four Mile Relay and DMR teams that both set Penn Relay Carnival records.