Akande Leads Wildcats With Eighth Place Finish at Paul Short Run

Villanova placed two runners in the top 30 overall, finished seventh in team standings

Nicky Akande crossed the finish line in 20:33 and came in eighth overall out of 360 runners at the Paul Short Run.

Sept. 28, 2012

BETHLEHEM, Pa.--In the Women's Gold Race at the Paul Short Run junior Nicky Akande (Lawrenceville, Ga.) came in eighth overall in a field of 360 runners to lead Villanova at the Lehigh University course on Friday morning. As a team the Wildcats finished seventh out of 40 teams that competed in the Gold race.

Akande covered the 6,000-meter course in 20:33 and was one of two Villanova runners to place in the top 30 of the field. Senior Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.) finished in 29th place with a time of 21:02 and the Wildcats had a spread of only 51 seconds between their top five runners.

The trio of junior Emily Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.) and sophomores Stephanie Schappert (Delray Beach, Fla.) and Megan Venables (Laurel Springs, N.J.) were separated by just nine seconds at the finish line. Lipari finished in 44th place with a time of 21:15, while Schappert and Venables came in 50th (21:23) and 53rd (21:24), respectively.

Rounding out the top seven for Villanova were sophomore Courtney Chapman (Fayetteville, N.Y.) in 78th place (21:54) and senior Meghan Smith (Newark, Del.) in 126th place (22:25).

As a team the Wildcats finished with 184 points in their first scored meet of the season. Cornell won the team title with 55 points and was followed by William & Mary (102), Georgetown (106), Yale (147), Dartmouth (149) and Providence (167) ahead of Villanova in the standings. Rounding out the top 10 teams were Brown (196), New Hampshire (331) and Navy (332).

Despite heavy rain that fell last night and into the early morning hours the course was mostly dry at the time of the race, with a few muddy spots along the route slowing down the pace. The quartet of Akande, Lipari, Cook and Chapman all went out in 5:34 for the first mile and each was among the top nine runners overall at the one-mile mark.

Villanova will next compete on Saturday, October 13 in the Pre-NCAA Meet at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

COMPLETE RESULTS

Paul Short Run
Lehigh University Course
6000 Meters

Top 10 Teams

Cornell                      55
William & Mary               102
Georgetown                   106
Yale                         147
Dartmouth                    149
Providence                   167
Villanova                    184
Brown                        196
New Hampshire                331
Navy                         332

Villanova Individuals

Nicky Akande                 8th of 360               20:33
Summer Cook                  29th                     21:02
Emily Lipari                 44th                     21:15
Stephanie Schappert          50th                     21:23
Megan Venables               53rd                     21:24
Courtney Chapman             78th                     21:54
Meghan Smith                 126th                    22:25
Kelsey Margey                140th                    22:28
Ariann Neutts                242nd                    23:23
Leanne Tucker                307th                    24:18

Women's Open Race

Amanda Borroughs             26th of 293              22:40
Mary Bohi                    49th                     23:12
Anna Francis                 82nd                     23:45

Villanova University