June 3, 1999

BOISE, Idaho - Villanova University senior Carrie Tollefson (Dawson, Minn./ Dawson H.S.) ran a 9:32.71 to record the second fastest time in the 3,000m trials of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday, June 2, to advance to the finals of the event to be held on Friday, June 4, at 8:20 p.m. MST. Tollefson finished second in the first heat of the 3,000m to Kristen Gordon of Georgetown, who ran the event in 9:31.84. The winner of the second heat was Kara Wheeler of Colorado, who crossed the finish line in 9:36.71. The top four in each heat advanced to the finals, with the top four fastest times after that also advancing.

Also competing in Wednesday's 3,000m trials was Wildcat junior Kristen Nicolini (Annapolis, Md./ Annapolis H.S.), who finished in ninth place in her heat with a time of 9:48.25. Nicolini's time placed her seventeenth overall, but did not qualify her for Friday's finals. This was her first individual appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Two more Wildcat runners will get into the action on Thursday, June 3. Sophomore Charmaine Walker (Plainfield, N.J./ Plainfield H.S.) will compete in the preliminaries of the 100m hurdles beginning at 5:00 p.m. MST., while junior Carmen Douma (Cambridge, Ontario/ Woodland Christian H.S.) will compete in the trials of the 1,500m run set to start at 5:40 p.m. MST.