Akande Leads Strong Villanova Efforts at Larry Ellis Invitational

Sophomore middle distance runner ran time of 2:06.09 in 800 meters

Sophomore Nicky Akande established a personal best in the 800 meters at the Larry Ellis Invitational on Friday night.

April 20, 2012

PRINCETON, N.J.--Sophomore middle distance runner Nicky Akande (Lawrenceville, Ga.) ran a personal best time of 2:06.09 in the 800 meters and headlined an excellent night of competition for Villanova in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Weaver Stadium on Friday night. Five runners competed for the Wildcats in the 800 meters and three more ran in the 5000 meters.

Akande registered one of the top times of the season among BIG EAST athletes and finished third overall out of 60 entries in the 800 meters. She continued to show the form that has led her to an already successful season and ran a personal best time for the second time in the past three weeks.

Senior Erin Ryan (Doylestown, Pa.) registered a personal best time of 2:12.06 and finished 24th overall while placing second in her individual section. In the fifth heat of the 800 meters she finished as the runner-up by a mere one-tenth of a second and crossed the finish line nearly two-tenths of a second faster than the time she ran last weekend.

The other finishers for Villanova were freshman Stephanie Schappert (Delray Beach, Fla.), freshman Leanne Tucker (Tewksbury, Mass.) and junior Shannon Browne (Staten Island, N.Y.). Schappert came in 28th overall (2:13.20) and was eighth in the first heat that also featured Akande, while Tucker and Browne came in 31st (2:13.40) and 39th (2:14.62), respectively.

In the 5000 meters freshman Megan Venables (Laurel Springs, N.J.) posted a time of 17:05.54 and came in 19th out of a total of 98 entries. Junior Meghan Smith (Newark, Del.) placed 34th in a personal best time of 17:20.35 and senior Callie Hogan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) registered a time of 17:36.23 to finish 53rd overall.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS

800 Meters

Nicky Akande                       3rd of 60                   2:06.09
Erin Ryan                          24th                        2:12.06
Stephanie Schappert                28th                        2:13.20
Leanne Tucker                      31st                        2:13.40
Shannon Browne                     39th                        2:14.62

5000 Meters

Megan Venables                     19th of 98                  17:05.54
Meghan Smith                       34th                        17:20.35
Callie Hogan                       53rd                        17:36.23

Villanova University