April 12, 1997
PHILADELPHIA - Five members of the Villanova women's track & field team qualified provisionally for the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the Villanova Invitational. The Villanova Invitational was held at Villanova Stadium/Jumbo Elliott Track on the campus of Villanova University, on Saturday, April 12, 1997.
Senior Krestena Sullivan (Sr., Kitchener, Ontario) and sophomore Kristine Jost (So., Baltimore, Md.) ran qualifying times in the 1500m, while freshman Tamieka Grizzle (Fr., Bronx, N.Y.) and sophomore Jurga Marcinkevicuite (So., Valnius, Lithuania) both qualified in the 800m. In addition sophomore Carrie Tollefson (So., Dawson, Minn.) posted a provisional time in the 3000m.
Sullivan was victorious in the 1500m as she tripped the tape in 4:22.02 to edge out former Wildcat great Debbie Marshall (Grant). Kristine Jost, who is the 3000m indoor national champion finished third in the event with a time of 4:23.57.
Grizzle looked dominate in winning the 800m as she qualified in an outstanding time of 2:05.90. Grizzle was followed by Marcinkevicuite who finished second in 2:06.84.
Carrie Tollefson raced to the lead early in the 3000m as she claimed first place with a provisional mark of 9:27.59.
In addition to the Villanova qualifiers, Haverford senior Karl Paranya (Sr., Unadilla, N.Y.) also ran an NCAA provisional time of 4:03.39 in the men's mile.
For the Wildcats junior Kia Davis (Jr., Chester, Pa.) was a multiple winner. Davis was the individual 100m and 400m hurdles champions and also ran a leg on the winning 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. Davis' times in the 100m hurdles (14.16) and 400m hurdles (1:00.00) qualifies her for the ECAC Outdoor Championships
