Cross Country
Last week, graduate student Liam Murphy earned his second recognition as Big East Male Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Princeton Fall Classic.
At Princeton, Murphy finished as the runner-up in the men’s 8,000 meter out of 234 runners with a time of 22:36.8, the second-fastest time ever recorded by a Villanova runner in that event. This title is the sixth Big East weekly recognition in his career and just one of the many awards Murphy has collected over his time as a Wildcat, including Villanova’s Senior Student-Athlete of the Year Award in 2023-24.
“[The Big East recognition] shows you the work you’re putting in is paying off,” Murphy said. “But I do not think it impacts my mindset too much. I still got to get on the line the next time and have the same exact starting point as everyone else. I celebrate a little bit with my family and we get excited about it. But after that, it’s just about focusing on the next race and seeing what I could do when it comes down to it.”
As the record holder for five school records, including the absolute school record in the 3000 meters (7:42.51) as well as indoor 5000 meters record (13:21.20), Murphy has cemented himself as one of the top distance runners Villanova has ever seen.
“I think, for me, one of the biggest things I like about running is just seeing how far I could push myself,” Murphy said. “I enjoy seeing how far I could take it and how far I could keep going. Once I’m in the race, it’s all just second nature.”
Heading toward the end of the season, Murphy is preparing for his last big outdoor competitions as a Wildcat, with the Big East, Mid-Atlantic, and NCAA Championships all taking place throughout November.
“For myself, I definitely want to win the Big East next weekend and try to repeat my title that I won last year,” Murphy said. “ Following that it’s regionals and trying to qualify as a team. Hopefully I can defend my title there again as well. Just doing that, I think will set us up really well for Nationals mentally, and then just giving everything we got at NCAA [Championships] in Wisconsin.”
Although the men closed out the regular season at the Princeton Invitation, the women’s cross country team took part in one last event over the weekend to try to prepare itself for the Big East Championships on Friday, Nov. 1 in Leesburg, Virginia.
Competing in the Haverford Invitational, graduate student Lizzie Martell ran unattached in her second race of the season, clinching the women’s 5000 meters, ahead of 63 runners with a time of 17:48.4. In the same race, freshman Bella Walsh slotted third (18:00.5), junior Kinsey Pogue finished fourth (18:19.3) and senior Alex Stasichin finished fifth (18:29.4), ahead of Navy and Penn. Sophomore Caelen O’Leary placed 17th overall with a time of 19:21.9.
Swimming and Diving
The success for Villanova Athletics did not stop there, as sophomore swimmer Martina Lonati was recognized as the Big East Female Athlete for her performance in the Wildcats’ season-opening meet against UConn last week, which they won, 172-128. For her part, Lonati contributed three top-three finishes for the Wildcats, taking home the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.53 seconds, as well as claiming third in the 200 free (1:35:57) and 100 free (52.90).
Although only a sophomore, Lonati has been gaining recognition since her debut as a Wildcat last year, being named to the Big East All-Academic Team last season and qualifying for the Championship final in two events at the Big East Championships.
“It was definitely unexpected,” Lonati said. “I know what is expected of me, and I feel like I know exactly what I’m doing. Last year was more of an exploratory phase where I needed to figure out how things worked. This year, I’m more focused on my academic and swimming career, and it’s definitely better knowing what you’re expecting.”
A native of Guglionesi, Italy, Lonati was unable to visit Villanova before she committed. She relied heavily on talking to the coaches and looking online to find a school that matched her academic interests.
“The kindness of the coaches was the thing that made me realize that maybe [Villanova] was my kind of place to be,” Lonati said. “I also have a classical background for high school, so I studied Latin and ancient Greek. So I felt that I was really familiar with the Villanova culture, the Augustinian culture, and I felt that was sometime that could resonate with my background.”
Lonati and the women’s team continued the success they had at UConn in Villanova’s meet against Georgetown last weekend. Results were split: the women finished with a score of 215-85, while the men fell short, 149-151.
“One of the things we always repeat as a team is that we swim for the people that came before us,” Lonati said. “We have such a great tradition of women that achieved so much for so long, I feel that we have this power and confidence and also kind of duty to make sure that continues. When it’s a victory for us it’s also a victory for the people that came before us.”
In diving, junior Alexa Fegley won first place in both the one-meter (247.88) and three-meter (247.50) events, sophomore Meghan Scott took second in the one-meter (232.95) and third in the three-meter (237.68) and sophomore Michelle Kasulka secured second in the three-meter (244.95). On the men’s side, senior Nicholas Jubilee placed third in the three-meter (283.28).
In the swimming relays, the women’s team won both the 200 (1:45:15) and 400 (3:30.42), while the men’s team took second in the 200 but won, 400 (3:04.89).
“We all felt great,” Lonati said. “I think it was one of the highest-energy meets that we ever had. Even though we were super sore because we’re in the middle of the season and practicing really hard, I felt it was great to have everyone cheering on. That plays the biggest part when it comes to actually getting up and racing.”
In the freestyle, the women’s team dominated over the Hoyas in each event. Sophomore Marlene Blanke took the 1000 and 500 (10.24.97 and 5:05.57), sophomore Riley Kudlac finished first in the 200 (1:52.15) and the 100 (51.72), and graduate Lexi Elkovitch claimed the 50 (24.14). For the men, freshman Owen Nye clinched the 1000 (9:38.98) and junior Gavin Jones took the 200 (1:41.20).
In the backstroke, the women struggled in the 200 but Arabelle Lee (57.42) won the 100. In the men’s backstroke, senior Aubrey Bowles finished first in the 200 (1:54.40), and sophomore John Seidman took the 100 (52.58).
In the breaststroke, freshman Annie Honkamp won the 200 (2:21.71), and junior Winnie Jalet captured the 100 (1:04.76) while the men did not place highly in either event.
In the butterfly, both teams excelled, with the men and the women claiming first in both the 100-yard and 200-yard races. Junior Katie White won the women’s 100 yard butterfly (2:04.26) and Lee won the women’s 200 yard butterfly (56.48). For the men, sophomore Justin Nowicki won the 200-yard (1:50.65) and freshman Melson Arquillano won the 100-yard (50.55).
The women claimed a commanding victory over the Hoyas, 215-85. The men lost by two, 151-149.
For its next competition, Villanova will go to Rider University on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Then, the team returns home to face NJIT on Friday, Nov. 1 in the Villanova Swim Complex in Jake Nevin Field House.
