Villanova had a strong showing at the Penn State National Open, qualifying nine runners for postseason meets. The event took place over two days at the Horace Ashenfelter Track.

Seniors Michael Kerrigan and Mark Korich took first and third place in the 1,000-meter run, respectively. Kerrigan finished with a time of 2:26.59, while Korich followed with a time of 2:26.90, qualifying them both for the Big East meet. Juniors Kyle Audi (2:29.40) and William Sepich (2:29.41) also qualified in the 1,000-meter.

Junior Elvis Lewis secured a spot in the Big East meet by placing second in the 400-meter run with a time of 47.46 seconds, a mere 0.21 higher than the provisional standard. Freshman Garret Kroner placed seventh among 31 runners in the non-invitational flight of the race with a time of 48.87 seconds.

Senior Patrick Gazzini advanced to the semi-finals after running the 60-meter hurdles in 8.16 seconds, lowering his fastest season time. Junior Elliot Whaley also lowered his personal best, running a time of 8.46 seconds.

Junior Sean Tully finished his 800-meter with a time of 1:50.73 and came in fourth out of 11 participants.

In the 3,000-meter run, senior Geoffrey Doody qualified for the postseason, coming in seventh out of 16 with a time of 8:20.93.

Villanova’s next scheduled competition is the McElliott Meet at Haverford College on Feb. 2. – C.M