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Wildcats Gear Up For IC4A/ECAC Championship
May 21, 1998
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcat men's and women's track and field squad will travel to Fairfax, Va., on May 21-24, 1998, to compete in college track and fields largest championship this season. Senior All-American Kareem Archer will lead the Wildcat men in the 122nd running of the IC4A Championships, the country's oldest men's collegiate track competition. Archer is the IC4A's defending champion in the 400m hurdles, winning the event last year in a personal-best 48.80. Archer is a two-time All-America selection in the 400m hurdles and three-time Big East Conference Outdoor Champion. The school record holder in the event, Archer posted his fastest time of the season (49.43) at the conference meet two weeks ago. Additionally, Archer anchors the Wildcats' 1600-meter relay team that has posted a fast time of 3:08.50 this season and won the Big East title. Archer will team up with freshman Michael Brown, Maulan Byron, and Shaun Stanton. Other standouts for the Wildcats start with junior Jermaine Deans, who is the school record holder in the long jump (25-10), and ranks among the all-time top 10 in the triple jump. Deans is an NCAA qualifier in both events. Dean Smith has made his mark in the 1500m, fresh from a personal-best run of 3:46.4 last week at the Haverford Invitational. The sophomore won the event, edging out former Wildcat All-American Marcus O'Sullivan in the race. Scott Tantino is another member of the distance squad, and excels in the 5000m, while Coulby Dunn hopes to make his mark in either the 5000m or 10,000m. The Wildcats also boast two excellent throwers in freshman Barry Flicker and junior Steve Bienko. Flicker earned runner-up honors in the javelin with a personal-best toss of 218-4 at the Big East Championships, while Bienko has had success this season in both the shot put and discus. The women boast some equally impressive competitors, with sophomore Carmen Douma leading the charge. Douma, the indoor national champion in the mile this season, posted personal-best performances in both the 1500m (2:46.43) and the 800m (2:06.31) at the Big East Conference Championships in May. Joining her in these events is sophomore Tamieka Grizzle, who has rebounded from an ankle injury during the indoor season to record an exceptional spring. Grizzle finished second to Douma in the 1500m at Big East in a career-fast 4:23.39, and is a standout in the 800m. Freshman Charmaine Walker has already established herself as one of the finest sprint hurdlers in the nation, earning All-America honors during the indoor season and posting a personal best of 13.15 in the 100m hurdles at the Penn Relays this season. Walker won the Big East Conference Championship in the event and should be a force at the ECAC Championships. Leashia Rahr is another valuable member of the Wildcat squad and will compete in the 400m hurdles, while Sarah Hunt has established herself as the Wildcats' leader in the hammer and discus events. Kristen Nicolini, a junior transfer from Auburn University, has also come into her own in the 3000m. Nicolini has already earned an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:38.41 in the event. Head coach John Marshall has another outstanding distance runner in freshman Ann McGranahan, who won the 10,000m race at the conference meet in an NCAA provisional time of 35:07.54. She also owns ECAC qualifying marks in the 3000m and 5000m.
MENS ROSTER
Name Event Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown / High School
Kareem Archer 400m / 110m Hurdles 6-3 182 Sr. Plainfield, N.J. / Plainfield
Steve Bienko Discus / Shot 6-3 210 Jr. Tranquility, N.J. / Delbarton
Michael Brown 400m / 400m Hurdles 6-0 165 Fr. Mt. Holly, N.J. / Lenape
Maulan Byron 400m 6-3 170 So. St. Vincents, West Indies / St. Martins
Jermaine Deans Triple / Long Jumps 5-11 142 Jr. Kingston, Jamaica / Jamaica College
Coulby Dunn 5000m / 10,000m 5-10 140 Jr. Greentown, Pa. / Wallenpaupack
Barry Flicker Javelin 5-10 185 Fr. Pottstown, Pa. / Pottstown
Dean Smith 1500m / 3000m Steeple 5-8 135 So. Phoenix, Md. / Calvert Hall
Shaun Stanton 1600m Relay 5-10 145 Fr. Bronx, N.Y. / Iona Prep
Scott Tantino 1500m / 5000m 6-1 155 So. North Wales, Pa. / North Penn
WOMENS ROSTER
Name Event Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown / High School
Carmen Douma 800m / 1500m 5-7 125 So. Cambridge, Ontario / Woodland Chr.
Jessica Franks 1600m Relay 5-7 116 Fr. Lansdale, Pa. / North Penn
Tamieka Grizzle 800m / 1500m 5-6 130 So. Bronx, N.Y. / George Washington
Sarah Hunt Discus / Hammer 5-8 165 So. Langhorne, Pa. / Neshaminy
Lonye Johnson 3200m Relay 5-2 107 So. Wilmington, Del. / Ursuline Academy
Geraldine McCarthy 3200m Relay 5-9 125 Fr. Listowel, Ireland / Pres. Secondary
Ann McGranahan 3000m / 5000m / 10,000m 5-6 100 Fr. Pensacola, Fla. / Pensacola
Kristen Nicolini 1500m / 3000m 5-6 110 Jr. Annapolis, Md. / Annapolis
Leashia Rahr 400m Hurdles 5-2 120 So. Syracuse, N.Y. / Henninger
Marlena Robinson Long / Triple Jump 5-7 119 Fr. Rochester, N.Y. / Brighton
Charmaine Walker 100m Hurdles 5-8 138 Fr. Plainfield, N.J. / Plainfield
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