STANFORD, Calif.—Sophomore middle distance runner Rachel McArthur (Bristow, Va.) lowered her personal best time in the 1500 meters by more than five seconds in a terrific race at the Cardinal Classic on Saturday night.  She and senior Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) raced in the invitational section of the 1500 meters at Cobb Track and Angell Field, where the Wildcats had a total of five athletes in competition. 
 
McArthur was the runner-up in the fastest section of the 1500 meters with a time of 4:14.91.  She easily beat the time of 4:19.99 which she had recorded at the NCAA East Preliminary meet as a freshman last season.  She now moves into position to earn a return trip to this year's East Region meet which takes place in Jacksonville, Fla. next month.  McArthur also moved into 10^th place on the all-time Villanova performance list in the 1500 meters. 
 
Saturday's race went out at a brisk pace with a number of runners looking to earn their qualifying times for postseason meets.  Hutchinson and McArthur ran near the front of the back for the duration of the race, with Hutchinson crossing the finish line in third place with a time of 4:15.30.  She had previously run 4:14.01 in the Sam Howell Invitational earlier in the year.    
 
Three other Wildcats competed in the second section of the 1500 meters earlier in the evening.  Senior Sammy Bockoven (Hudson, Ohio) led that group with a time of 4:29.02, while sophomore Lauren Ryan (South Yarra, Australia) posted a time of 4:32.08 and senior Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.) crossed the line in 4:32.15.