New Commitment

[PeterN]

I do not follow X country and track as closely as some here but this appears to be a very solid commitment. She won the NJ state championship 800 meters with 2:10.3, 54.2 split in the 4 X 400 and 5:05.27 in 1,600. She also runs cross country.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...de-her-college-choice-the-winner-isvillanova/

 

[whitecat]

I do not follow X country and track as closely as some here but this appears to be a very solid commitment. She won the NJ state championship 800 meters with 2:10.3, 54.2 split in the 4 X 400 and 5:05.27 in 1,600. She also runs cross country.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...de-her-college-choice-the-winner-isvillanova/[/QUOT

 

[whitecat]

Peter N,

She seems like a great grab for us; she has both speed and range.

 

[Togo]

Whitey,
What about Olivia Arizin a Junior at Cardinal O'Hara in Springfield, PA. She broke a 17 year record at Belmont Plateau yesterday. She ran 18:32 for 3.1 miles, don't know anything else 'bout her.

 

[excattyguy]

She ran under 2:10 four times last spring and has split 56 + on her leg of the 4x400

 

[LSU-Nit]

Villanova has gotten a commitment from 2x PA state champion McKenna Keegan, a sprinter from Avon Grove High School (West Grove, PA -- in Chester county). Keegan is the 2014 and 2015 PA state champion (AAA) over 400 meters. She has PRs as follows:

100: 13.17
200: 25.10
400: 54.66
800: 2:15.50i

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=6773819

 

[whitecat]

Villanova has gotten a commitment from 2x PA state champion McKenna Keegan, a sprinter from Avon Grove High School (West Grove, PA -- in Chester county). Keegan is the 2014 and 2015 PA state champion (AAA) over 400 meters. She has PRs as follows:

100: 13.17
200: 25.10
400: 54.66
800: 2:15.50i

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=6773819

In this morning's Binghamton paper there was a long feature on Abbey Wheeler which stated she
has visited VU and Providence. At McQuaid she finished a second behind Shona McCullough
of Canada. Are we looking at her. Given that Wheeler is from Elmira, and Lawson is from Corning, I believe that the
Southern Tier might have the two best runners in the state.

 

[excattyguy]

I think Nova really needs two mid-distance recruits who would be as impactful next year as S C-B was last year.

 

[LSU-Nit]

ExCat: without speaking out of turn, I believe that Villanova is heavily pursuing two middle distance girls from across the Atlantic: one in Ireland (for the 2017 recruiting class) and one in the west of England (for the 2016 recruiting class). They both fit the bill you cited. The latter ran 2:07 and 4:15 as a 17-year old.

 

[excattyguy]

The English girl is what is needed, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I don't think Nova has even gotten a female recruit from England. I can only remember two male recruits: John Keyworth and Paul Rowbotham from decades ago. There may be someone more recent, but no one comes to mind now.

Nova did have a girl from Scotland, but she was there only one year.

Has the pipeline of male recruits from Australia and New Zealand dried up, or is it being held up by the US Congress? It never materialized for the women except for the girl who stayed only one year.

 

[LSU-Nit]

The Scottish girl you referred to was Siobhan Coleman, who ran at Villanova in 2006-2007. During XC season in 2006 (when the Villanova women -- except Frances Koons -- were not very good) she showed promise: e.g., she was Villanova's #2 at the Big East meet (coming 19th overall). On the track, she was primarily a 1500 & 5000 meter runner -- she came 9th (17:32) in the 5000 at the 2007 Big East meet (Molly Huddle won the race in 15:59, BTW). She left Villanova quickly and went back home.

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Athlete.aspx?AID=1435543#tT3

On the ANZUS pipeline, you may be right. Of course, Adrian Blincoe was the main feeder of that recruiting pipeline and with him off the staff, it's hard to imagine Villanova getting the same volume of Aussie & Kiwi runners. That being said, the success of those guys at Villanova puts the school prominently on the radar of athletes there. Also, Sonia O'Sullivan's husband Nic Bideau runs the Melbourne Track Club and is sympathetic to the Villanova program. So, Villanova may well continue to get top-notch talent from that part of the world.

 

[spg109876ers]

Welcome