WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Sophomore middle distance runner Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) lowered her personal best time in the Mile in a terrific race at the UCS Invitational on Saturday evening. Hutchinson registered a time of 4:36.16 in her race, and the mark will be further lowered once it is converted to account for being run on a flat 200-meter track. Hutchinson was the lone women's athlete competing for the Villanova in Saturday's meet at the JDL Fast Track.

Racing in the fastest of five sections of the Mile during Saturday's action, Hutchinson started off strong and quickly formed a three-person lead pack along with Grace Barnett of Clemson and Megan Moye of North Carolina State. Hutchinson had an approximate split of 2:20 after the first 800 meters and closed strong with a final lap of 32.85 to finish second in her section. The separation between Barnett and Hutchinson at the finish line was nearly indiscernible, as they posted times of 4:36.10 and 4:36.16, respectively. Moye wound up third in 4:39.05.

This weekend offered one of the final opportunities to post top times before many conferences hold their championship meets next weekend. Hutchinson's time, once converted, should rank at least in the top 10 of this year's national performance list once times are reported from all meets around the country. Saturday's race puts her in excellent position to qualify for next month's NCAA Championships in the Mile.

It has been an excellent indoor season for Hutchinson, whose previous personal best of 4:37.63 in the Mile came at the Villanova Open last month. Since then, she tallied a time of 9:09.59 in the 3000 meters at the Villanova Invitational. That mark was also a personal best and ranked in the top 20 nationally entering the weekend.

Villanova will next be in action at the BIG EAST Championships, which take place on February 24-25 at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y.