Positive Vibes from Armory Collegiate Invitational

Some noteworthy take-aways from the Villanova weekend in New York:

(1) The women's DMR this weekend included freshman Angel Piccirillo (1200) and Michaela Wilkins (400) at the front end of the relay, and a strong 4:34 anchor from Emily Lipari (right), who has run the opening 1200 meter leg over the past two years. In the 800 leg Nicky Akande closed a large gap to draw practically even at the handoff to Lipari. The 10:56.74 win puts the ladies at the top spot in the NCAA performance list, well ahead right now of #2 Oregon's 11:02.18. The last time the Villanova women ran that fast at the Armory was 2010, when they went on to win the NCAA title in the DMR. The race can be seen HERE.

(2) Who knows the ceiling on Sam Ellison? He won the 500 meter run in New York in 1:01.31 -- the second-fastest time in the country this season. Watch that race HERE. He's already run 1:48.62 over 800 meters, which is still the #7 time in the NCAA.

(3) Dusty Solis ran a gigantic 7-second PR in the mile, winning his division in 4:07.03. Solis has chopped his PR by 9 seconds this year, as he entered this season with a mile PR of 4:16.04. He's also run 2:26.69 for 1000 meters. Very nice season for him so far. The video of that race is HERE.

(4) Chris FitzSimons is gaining traction as well. His 1:49.86 800-meter run at the Armory has him sitting at the #21 spot in the NCAA. The video of that race is HERE. Also, his 2:25.83 1000 meters is #28 in the NCAA at this point. Getting optimistic about the prospects of even quicker times for him as the season progresses.

(5) Speaking of 1000 meters, Rob Denault ran a very quick 2:24.61 (NCAA #13) to go with his 4:00.04 mile (NCAA #12). The video of the 1000 meter race is HERE.

(6) Stephanie Schappert gets very little attention, it seems, but she is quietly putting together an excellent string of races. Her PR 2:45.65 1000 meter time is the #6 time in the country so far. Watch the race HERE. The three previous Schapperts (her mother, father, and sister) to compete for Villanova each earned All-American status, and it is looking increasingly likely that Stephanie could do the same before her career is over.

(7) Kelsey Margey ran 4:41.78 for the mile this weekend. The race video is HERE. That's #19 in the NCAA. She's sitting at #2 in the 1000 meters, by virtue of her 2:43.89 facility record from the Gotham Cup in early January. She also #22 at 800 meters, thanks to her 2:08.17 run last weekend at Penn State.

(8) Waiting for some fast miles with Sam McEntee and Jordy Williamsz. Ditto for an "A" team DMR effort.