Villanova University

Jan. 18, 2013

NEW YORK - Redshirt freshman Rob Denault (Aurora, Ont.), sophomore Tom Trainer (Havertown, Pa.) and senior Alex Tully (Little Rock, Ark.) each ran to individual victories in their respective events and Villanova had a successful night of competition in the Great Dane Classic at the New York Armory on Friday night.

Denault and freshman Jordy Williamsz (Melbourne, Australia) each opened up their indoor seasons and gave the Wildcats a one-two finish in the 3000 meters. Denault crossed the finish line first with a winning time of 8:15.73, which was nearly identical to the race he ran in this event at last year's meet.

Williamsz came in second with a time of 8:18.71 and sophomore Robert Hurlbut (Rochester, N.Y.) came in sixth in 8:35.28. The time for Hurlbut was a personal best and marked the second straight week he has had a career best effort; last week he set a new personal best in the 5000 meters at the NYC Gotham Cup.

In the 5000 meters Trainer and senior Matt Kane (Fairfield, Conn.) gave Villanova another one-two combination. Trainer ran a career best time of 14:33.16 and beat his previous top time from last spring by nearly seven seconds. Kane came in second with a time of 14:34.90 and the Wildcats wound up with five of the top seven finishers in the field of 17 runners.

Junior Brian Basili (South Orange, N.J.) placed fourth (14:44.66), while juniors John Pickhaver (Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Greg Morrin (Hockessin, Del.) were fifth (14:46.39) and seventh (15:07.20), respectively.

The third win for Villanova on the evening came from Tully in the Mile, which he won with a time of 4:08.02 to lead a field of 26 runners. Sophomore Charlie Bates (Hoboken, N.J.) and junior Dusty Solis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) came in fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 4:14.01 and 4:14.10. Those times were each career bests and for Bates marked the second time in as many weeks he has produced a career best result in the Mile. Junior Dan Harris (Clifton Park, N.Y.) came in 15th in the Mile with a time of 4:21.97.

Villanova received strong performances from juniors Chris FitzSimons (Hamden, Conn.) and Richie Bohny (Holmdel, N.J.) in the 1000 meters. FitzSimons opened his indoor season with a personal best time of 2:25.83 to finish in third place out of 26 runners, while Bohny placed ninth with a time of 2:30.54 which eclipsed the career best time he ran at the Armory last week. Junior Chris Pietrocarlo (Hampstead, N.H.) came in 12th in the 1000 meters (2:31.79).

In all the Wildcats had more than two dozen athletes competing in 12 events at Friday's meet. Villanova came in third out of 24 collegiate teams that scored points in the meet, totaling 71 points overall.

Next up on the schedule for the Wildcats is the Penn State National meet, which will be held over two days next Friday and Saturday.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS

5000 Meters

Tom Trainer                1st of 17             14:33.16
Matt Kane                  2nd                   14:34.90
Brian Basili               4th                   14:44.66
John Pickhaver             5th                   14:46.39
Greg Morrin                7th                   15:07.20

60 Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)

Aaron Sandifer             23rd of 38            8.84

Mile

Alex Tully                 1st of 26             4:08.02
Charlie Bates              4th                   4:14.01
Dusty Solis                5th                   4:14.10
Dan Harris                 15th                  4:21.97

400 Meters

Kyle Chou                  17th of 47            50.22
Cory Serfoss               27th                  50.95
Jake Stillings             28th                  50.97
Joseph Messick             39th                  51.87

500 Meters

Matt Whalen                20th of 23            1:08.74

800 Meters

Andrew Golato              13th of 32            1:57.12
John Castillo              16th                  1:59.15

1000 Meters

Chris FitzSimons           3rd of 26             2:25.83
Richie Bohny               9th                   2:30.54
Chris Pietrocarlo          12th                  2:31.79

200 Meters

Donald Urschel             30th of 56            22.73

3000 Meters

Rob Denault                1st of 16             8:15.73
Jordy Williamsz            2nd                   8:18.71
Robert Hurlbut             6th                   8:35.28

4x400 Meter Relay

Villanova                  8th of 30             3:20.00

Pole Vault

Charlie Kido               tie-12th of 18        4.35m

Weight Throw

Chris McLeod               21st of 22            13.69m
Drew King                  22nd                  13.65m

Team Scores

Villanova                  3rd of 24             71 Points