On Saturday, Feb. 8, Villanova track and field competed in the Penn Classic at the Ott Center in Philadelphia. A trio of men’s distance runners also competed in the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invite at Boston University.
The Wildcats dominated Boston and earned qualifying times for the NCAA indoor championship. Fifth-year Liam Murphy and junior Marco Langon defeated their collegiate competition, as well as professional runners, in the 3,000-meter race at Boston.
“We kind of predicted that [Murphy and Langon] would be under 7:40,” men’s head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said. “But [Langon] was coming off a light version of the flu last week. We were hesitant to actually race him. And he joked with me this morning, he said, ‘You didn’t think I could do it?’ And I said, ‘I love it when you prove me wrong.’”
Murphy finished first while running a 7:35.47, registering the fourth-fastest 3K in collegiate history and setting a new school record. He shattered his own school record of 7:42.51, set at the 2024 Big East Indoor Championships.
Langon crossed the finish line right behind Murphy, finishing second with a time of 7:36.87. Langon’s time is the second-best 3K indoor time in Villanova history and the seventh-best in NCAA history.
To round out the trio in Boston, senior Sean Donoghue ran a 4:04.84 in the mile.
“We don’t care whether you’re a college or a professional or unattached,” O’Sullivan said. “We just go with the top 12 times and the ones that are going to be in the first section.”
On the women’s side, fifth-year Roschell Clayton achieved first place in the high jump with a jump of 1.76 meters. Clayton hails from Montego Bay, Jamaica and jumped at the Jamaica Olympic trials last summer.
A quartet of Wildcats also competed in the mile, three of which crossed the finish line consecutively within five seconds of each other. Senior Emma McGill was the first Wildcat to finish, reaching third place with a time of 4:42.84. Coming in three seconds behind McGill, senior Margaret Carroll secured fourth place in the mile.
Sophomore Tilly O’Connor ran a personal best, 4:47.14 to finish fifth. Junior Amelia Arrieta achieved a personal best in the mile, running a 5:01.25.
“The whole team was supposed to be off this weekend because we were at Penn State last weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “Some of the athletes didn’t get into Penn State last week and it gives them an opportunity to keep on pace so that if we go to a conference they’re still competing.”
Freshman Jenny Smith pulled off a personal best in Philadelphia last Saturday. Smith competed in the long jump and reached the five-meter mark.
The men’s duo of sprinters, including junior Sal Barretta and sophomore Matthew Griffin, competed in the 200-meter and 400-meter races together. In the 200-meter, Barretta posted a time of 22.52 while Griffin ran a 23.72. When the pair returned to the track for the 400-meter, Barretta recorded a 50.08 and Griffin was less than a second behind at 50.99.
On Friday, Feb. 14, Villanova will travel to Boston for two meets. The Eagle Elite is hosted by Boston College and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational is hosted by Boston University (FloTrack).
“BU is probably the fastest track in the country,” O’Sullivan said. “So what you’re going to do is you’re going to send some kids over there to get standards and qualifiers. And then the main part of the team, which means the invited part of the team, are going to the Eagle meet in BC, at the New Balance Arena.”
