May 18, 1998

HARRISONBURG, Va. --Led by the foursome of Tamieka Grizzle (So., Bronx, N.Y.), Carmen Douma (So., Cambridge, Ontario), Michael Brown (Fr., Mt. Holly, N.J.) and Steve Bienko (Jr., Tranquility, N.J.), the Villanova Wildcats performed well at the JMU Invitational, held on May 16, 1998, on the campus of James Madison University.

Grizzle posted her fasted 800m of the season with a first-place run of 2:06.50 in the event. The sophomore earned an NCAA Provisional-qualifying mark with the performance, and will look to improve upon her third-place ECAC finish in the event a year ago. The ECAC/ IC4A Championships will be held this coming weekend at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Douma continued to excel in her specialty, the 1500m, winning the individual championship in a time of 4:22.18. Her effort is her second-fastest all season, and is another NCAA provisional time. Douma is a three-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track and cross country, and an indoor national champion in the mile. Shes accomplished all of this in only two short seasons.

The rapidly-improving Brown won the 400m hurdles in a personal-best 51.65, qualifying for the IC4A Championships this weekend, while Bienko dominated the throwing events. Bienko won the shot put and placed second in the discus throw, recording marks of 50-9.50 and 164-5, respectively.

Head coach John Marshall received other outstanding performances as well. Sarah Hunt (So., Langhorne, Pa.) was another double competitor, finishing fourth in the discus and fifth in the hammer throw. She will compete in both events at the ECAC Championships. Ann McGranahan (Fr., Pensacola, Fla.), who won the Big East Outdoor 10,000m in her debut this season, also qualified for next weekends meet with a fifth-place effort in the 3000m.

Barry Flicker (Fr., Pottstown, Pa.) continued to impress in the javelin, throwing for over 200 feet for the fifth and sixth time this season at both JMU and the Haverford Invitational, also held last week. Flicker recently earned runner-up honors in the event at the Big East Conference Championships.

Also at the Haverford Twilight Invitational, the Villanova distance squad pushed themselves to the limit. Dean Smith (So., Phoenix, Md.) earned a personal-best performance with a run of 3:46.4 in the 1500m, winning the event and edging former Villanova All-American Marcus OSullivan. Scott Tantino (So., North Wales, Pa.) was also exceptional, finishing in third place in a career-fast 3:48.6. Brock Butler (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) was another standout, clocking a time of 9:41.9 to finish third overall in the race.

JMU Invitational

Final Results

Villanova Women's Results

400m Hurdles
5. Leashia Rahr *1:01.86

400m
8. Jessica Franks 58.24

800m
1. Tamieka Grizzle $2:06.50
17. Lonye Johnson 2:14.49
26. Geraldine McCarthy 2:16.78

1500m
1. Carmen Douma $4:22.18
11. Kristen Nicolini 4:35.55

3000m
5. Ann McGranahan *9:50.67

1600m Relay
6. Villanova *3:50.59

Discus
4. Sarah Hunt *139-8.0 (42.58m)

Hammer
5. Sarah Hunt *157-5.0 (47.98m)

VILLANOVA MENS RESULTS

400m Hurdles
1. Michael Brown *51.65
400m

10. Maulan Byron 48.48
13. Shaun Stanton 49.81

Shot Put
1. Steve Bienko *50-9.50 (15.48m)

Discus
2. Steve Bienko *164-5.0 (50.12m)

Javelin
5. Barry Flicker *202-6.0 (61.72m)
11. Ryan Burns *182-11.0 (55.76m)
14. Christopher Rice 170-9.0 (52.04m)

Haverford Twighlight Invitational
May 13, 1998
Haverford College
Haverford, Pa.

800m
6. Rich Morris 1:55.6

1500m
1. Dean Smith *3:46.4
3. Scott Tantino *3:48.6

3000m Steeplechase
3. Brock Butler 9:41.9

Javelin
1. Barry Flicker 64.12m
3. Ryan Burns 55.14

Shot Put
3. Steve Bienko 15.10m

Discus
1. Steve Bienko 48.86m

*ECAC/IC4A Qualifying mark; $NCAA Provisional qualifying mark.