Sept. 29, 2006

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Junior Frances Koons was the story of the day for the Villanova University women's cross country team on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Paul Short Invitational held on the campus of Lehigh University. Running less than 10 miles from her home in Allentown, Pa., Koons dominated the field en route to capturing the individual championship in 20:16. Yale's Lindsay Donaldson finished 12 seconds behind Koons in second place with a time of 20:28. In addition to winning first place honors, Koons also established a new course record.

Koons wasn't the only Wildcat to have an impressive showing on the afternoon. Freshman Siobhan Coleman (West Lothien, Scotland) finished 18th in 21:22 in the first premier race of her collegiate career. Senior Akilah Vargas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave the Wildcats three top 30 finishes with a 29th place effort. Vargas was timed in 21:34.

Rounding out the team's top five scorers were senior Zita Mezei (Mezokovesd Hungary) and rookie Theresa Rush (Malverne, N.Y.). Mezei tallied a 40th place finish in 21:43, while Rush was 50th in a time of 21:58.

From a team standpoint, Villanova registered a fourth place finish with 138 points. Highlighted by team champion Princeton with 61 points, all three teams that finished ahead of the Wildcats were nationally ranked entering the race. Wisconsin was a close second with 62 points, while Tennessee was third with 115 points. Yale placed one spot behind Villanova with 178 points.

Villanova will return to action on Saturday, October 14 when they travel to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in the pre-NCAA meet. The race will be held on the campus of Indiana State University. The 2006 NCAA cross country championships will be held in Terre Haute on Monday, Nov. 20.