This past weekend, Villanova Track and Field competed at the Penn State National Open at the Horace Ashenfelter III indoor track in Happy Valley, PA. The two-day meet, beginning on Friday, Jan. 31, was filled with various sprint, distance, field and throwing events.
The ‘Cats put on a powerful showing by accomplishing seven personal records, four season records, and one school record. Villanova is currently ranked No. 15 in NCAA Track and Field standings for the indoor season.
On Friday morning, sophomore Dan Watke returned to what he does best: the 800 meters. With a time of 1:46.3, Watke now holds the school record that was formerly held by teammate Sean Dolan who graduated in 2024. Watke’s performance helped him finish second in a photo finish, falling to a Penn State senior by only four-hundredths of a second.
“He’s a really good kid, and I’m really happy to be working with him,” men’s head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said. “He broke the indoor school record for the 1,000 two weeks ago, and now he just broke the 800 so that’s really great for him and the team. I think any other year that would send him to nationals.”
Two distance runners had standout performances in their rookie indoor season. Bella Walsh ran a time of 2:10.24 in the 800-meter run, landing her the 11th-best time as a freshman in the country and third in the Big East.
Rosie Shay had a time of 4:45.57 in the mile, which is a career best. Shay is now the No. 8 freshman in the Big East and 14th in the country. Sophomore Tilly O’Connor also ran the mile and reached a personal best of 4:48.68.
In the field events, fifth-year Justin Miller received fifth place in the long jump, leaping 7.13 meters. Miller’s distance is the 10th-best long jump in school history. Senior Alex Payne achieved the seventh-best distance for Villanova by throwing for 17.33 meters in women’s weight throw 20lbs.
“We go every weekend, but not every member of the team goes every weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “Meets become competitive in 1-2 events and not in the others. There’s a cutoff after a certain time, not all athletes can get into the same meet. We always try to make sure we are putting the athlete in the right place at the right time.”
The sophomore-junior duo of Luke Rakowitz and Ethan Walls competed together in the 400-meter dash and ultimately gained personal records as a result. Rakowitz ran a 48.22 while Walls was not far behind him with a time of 49.01.
To close out the first day of competition, sophomore Ajanae Thompson sprinted an 8.52 in the 60-meter hurdles. Thompson set a season personal best and came in fifth at the finals. She now sits at second in the Big East.
On Saturday, freshman Chris Coulter set a personal best with his performance in the shot put. Coulter threw for 13.6 meters which is a season record for the rookie.
Having the same last name, the duo of sophomore distance runners competed against each other in the 3,000-meter race. CJ Sullivan ran an 8:05.85, breaking his record of more than a year, as well as pulling off second place. Sullivan also accomplished the sixth-best time in the Big East. His teammate, Nick Sullivan, also reached a personal best of 8:14.37, shaving 16 seconds off his previous best.
“You’re trying to get them to improve as much as possible,” O’Sullivan said. “They both got personal records. All the while you’re always trying to get the athletes to improve and get stronger physically, aerobically for next fall when they all come back together for the cross-country season.”
Graduate Roschell Clayton and sophomore Malaika Cunningham kicked off their 2025 high jump seasons. Clayton jumped 1.77 meters to finish first out of 19. Cunningham reached a height of 1.68 meters.
This weekend, Villanova Track and Field will be back in Philadelphia on Feb. 8 to compete in the Penn Classic at the Ott Center (ESPN+). Several Wildcats on the men’s track team have been selected to compete at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invite also on Saturday. The meet is hosted by BU at their indoor facility in Boston, MA (FloTrack).
“This weekend we might have 10 to 15 [runners] that might go to the Penn Classic,” O’Sullivan said. “Also, we have about three potentially going to Boston this weekend to get a qualifying time for the NCAA Indoor Championship.”
