Villanova University

May 14, 2012

Complete Results From Swarthmore Last Chance Meet

SWARTHMORE, Pa.--Freshman middle distance runner Samuel McEntee (Perth, Australia) had an incredible race in the 1500 meters at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet on Monday night and will get a great deal of recognition around the country for his time of 3:36.81, a personal best by more than six seconds.

McEntee was the second collegiate runner across the finish line and came in fourth overall in the Jim Tuppeny section of the 1500 meters. Tuppeny, a legend in his own right, was a longtime Villanova assistant coach and the Swarthmore meet was previously held at Villanova Stadium and named in Tuppeny's memory.

This year has already been a memorable one for McEntee but his race on Monday night may have been his best effort yet. His time of 3:36.81 is the approximate equivalent of a time of 3:53 in the Mile and firmly establishes McEntee as one of the top middle distance runners in the nation as he prepares for the upcoming NCAA regional and national meets.

Despite its name the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet was not an officially recognized "last chance meet" in terms of qualifying times for the upcoming NCAA meets. Had the time for McEntee last night counted towards the outdoor season rankings he would have run the third fastest time in the entire nation for the current season.

In yesterday's race McEntee trailed Kyle Merber of Columbia, who ran a time of 3:35.59 to run the race. Earlier this season Lawi Lalang of Arizona registered a time of 3:36.77 in a meet at Stanford, a time just four-hundredths of a second faster than what McEntee ran on Monday evening.

McEntee remains in good shape to qualify for the NCAA East Regional in the 1500 meters. His time of 3:45.15 in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton earlier this season is ranked 43rd in the East Region, with declarations for the NCAA regional meet to be announced later this week.

Two other strong results for the Wildcats at the Swarthmore meet came from freshman Rob Denault (Aurora, Ont.) in the 1500 meters and sophomore Alex Tully (Little Rock, Ark.) in the 800 meters. Denault won the main section of the 1500 meters with a personal best time of 3:42.26, which paced the field of 81 runners. In the 800 meters Tully set a personal best of 1:51.75 while coming in eighth out of 88 runners in the event.

Denault has come on strong late in the season for Villanova and should continue to move forward as a result of his race in the 1500 meters on Monday night. Although his time will not count for consideration for the NCAA meets he took a big step towards being chosen to compete in the IAAF World Junior Championships in Spain this summer.

NOTES: The previous personal best for McEntee in the 1500 meters was 3:43.34, set at this same meet last season as an unattached runner ... McEntee is a sophomore academically at Villanova who is a freshman in outdoor track this season ... At the bottom of this release is a list of highlights for McEntee during the 2012 calendar year.

  COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS

800 Meters

Alex Tully                     8th of 88               1:51.75
Chris O'Sullivan               27th                    1:54.73
Chris Pietrocarlo              42nd                    1:57.38
Philip O'Connell               43rd                    1:57.44

1500 Meters (Jim Tuppeny)

Samuel McEntee                 4th of 15               3:36.81

1500 Meters

Rob Denault                    1st of 81               3:42.26
Dusty Solis                    12th                    3:51.32
Dan Harris                     32nd                    3:55.35
Brian Basili                   35th                    3:55.65
Charlie Bates                  40th                    3:57.65
Matt Kane                      43rd                    3:58.17
John Pickhaver                 46th                    3:59.60
John Castillo                  58th                    4:03.24
Richie Bohny                   67th                    4:11.66

Samuel McEntee 2012 TIMELINE

January 28

Runs the first sub-four minute mile of his career at the Penn State National meet

February 11

Anchors Villanova to a victory in the distance medley relay at the Millrose Games

February 19

BIG EAST champion in the 4x800 meter relay, running third leg of relay for Villanova
All-BIG EAST in the Mile with a runner-up finish at the conference championships

March 10

Places fourth in the Mile at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

March 12

Named a USTFCCCA first team All-American in the Mile

April 27

Anchors the Villanova distance medley relay at the Penn Relays

April 28

Runs the second leg of the 4x800 meter relay at the Penn Relays

May 5

BIG EAST outdoor champion in the 5000 meters

May 14

Runs a personal best time of 3:36.81 in the Jim Tuppeny 1500 meters at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet