Sam Ellison Punches Ticket to Des Moines with 1:47.76 PR

The highlight of Day 2 of the NCAA East Regional as far as Villanova fans are concerned was Sam Ellison's PR of 1:47.76 -- good for 3rd place in his 800 meter heat (4th overall among all heats) and an automatic spot at NCAA Nationals in Des Moines. The merged results of the 3 heats are provided below.

A second bit of good news was provided by senior Shericka Ward, who came 2nd in her heat of the 100 meter hurdles, in 13.23. She qualified for tomorrow's decisive NCAA "quarterfinals," where she will attempt to qualify for Nationals.

The other news of the day was all bad.

Christie Verdier finished 7th in her heat of the 400 meters, running 53.94 and out of the competition.

Nicky Akande ended an otherwise brilliant season on a downer, as she cratered badly in her 800 meter heat. She finished 9th, in 2:12.80, well below her capabilities, and was also eliminated.

Also eliminated was Nicoy Hines, who ran 52.61 in the 400 meter hurdles, finishing 7th in his heat.

Sam Yeats initially looked dangerous in the high jump, clearing 5' 5.75" and 5' 7.75" on her first attempts at each height. However, she was stymied at 5' 9.75" in three consecutive attempts and was out of the competition.

Likewise, Alex Wasik cleared 11' 11.75" in the women's pole vault competition, before failing to clear 12' 5.5". She finished 35th in the 48-person field.

Tomorrow will determine if Sam McEntee (1500), Emily Lipari (1500), Shericka Ward (100 hurdles), Samantha Francis (triple jump), Sheila Reid (5000), and Bogdana Mimic (5000) will be joining Sam Ellison on the flight to Des Moines in a week's time.

Men's 800 Meters

    Name              Yr    Affiliation     Time       Heat(Pl)
 1. Aaron Evans       SR    Georgia         1:47.31 Q   1 (1)
 2. Casimir Loxsom    JR    Penn State      1:47.69 Q   2 (1)
 3. Curtis Beach      SO    Duke            1:47.75 Q   1 (2)
 4. Samuel Ellison    SO    Villanova       1:47.76 Q   1 (3)
 5. Howard Shepard    JR    LSU             1:47.87 q   1 (4)
 6. Felix Kitur       SR    VMI             1:47.96 Q   3 (1)
 7. Donte Holmes      SR    Delaware State  1:48.33 Q   3 (2)
 8. Lance Roller      SR    Virginia        1:48.55 Q   3 (3)
 9. Harry McFann      SO    Columbia        1:48.78 Q   2 (2)
10. Darrin Gibson     JR    Florida State   1:48.84 Q   2 (3)
11. Chris Slate       SR    Clemson         1:48.86 q   2 (4)
12. Shawn Roberts     JR    Georgia Tech    1:48.97 q   1 (5)
13. Paris Simmons     JR    NC A&T          1:49.24     1 (6)
14. Dale Dunn         SR    Southern Miss.  1:49.37     2 (5)
15. David Mokone      SO    W. Kentucky     1:49.57     3 (4)
16. Michael Williams  SO    Princeton       1:49.61     2 (6)
17. Brendon Fish      FR    Columbia        1:49.72     3 (5)
18. Louis Gibilisco   SR    Mt St. Mary     1:49.88     2 (7)
19. Fabian Fiege      FR    Memphis         1:49.92     1 (7)
20. Rutger Admirand   FR    Cornell         1:50.00     2 (8)
21. Dan White         SR    Ohio State      1:50.79     1 (8)
22. Tihut Degfae      JR    Virginia Tech   1:51.02     1 (9)
23. Jesse Garn        FR    Binghamton      1:51.60     3 (6)
24. Tyler Cardillo    FR    Florida         1:51.93     3 (7)
25. O'Neal Wanliss    FR    UNC             1:52.02     2 (9)
26. Joe Banyai        JR    Michigan St     1:54.25     3 (8)
27. Patrick Peterson  SO    Sacred Heart    2:00.25     3 (9)