As Women’s History Month came to a close, two members of the Villanova women’s track and field team honored the spirit of the month by making history of their own.
Back on March 1, senior thrower Alex Payne became Villanova’s first champion in women’s weight throw with her performance at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships, recording a lifetime best of 19.18 meters in the fifth round of competition.
“It’s been one heck of a roller coaster ride,” throwing coach Peter Koumlelis said. “Unfortunately, Alex has been dealt her share of injuries over her time here at Villanova, but we’ve been able to figure out a way to navigate it. It all kind of culminated at the Big East with that just incredible series of throws that led to the performance that secured the first ever women’s weight throw title. I almost don’t have words for it. It was very surreal when it happened.”
In addition to being the first female champion, Payne now holds the third largest throw in school history, and owns three of the six top finishes on the Villanova record books.
“It’s something I’ve been manifesting for the entire season,” Payne told Villanova Athletics’ Victoria Newsome on Wildcat Rewind. “I knew I could do it. At the end of the day, I knew it was possible for me, and I didn’t want to not live up to my potential. We have great athletic trainers, great medical staff that really helped get me through that. Teammates and coaches that helped pull me along on the days I didn’t want to go to physical therapy. All of that work and support was necessary, but deep it was truly the belief that I knew I could win the Big East. So I did.”
Most recently, sixth year thrower Adria Retter has been cementing her name in the Villanova record books, recording Villanova’s second and fourth longest discus throws within a week of each other at 52.31 meters on March 23 at the Penn Challenge and 51.59 on March 29 at the Raleigh Relays.
“I’ve been able to kind of slow down, really figure out what specific cues with my throw to focus on, and then have time to only focus on discus this year, which is new for me,” Retter said. “In the past, I’ve done shot put and hammer throw but because discus is my best event, and it’s my last season, we decided that it would be kind of cool to put all the chips in one basket and then see what we could do.”
Competing during her undergraduate just a couple of miles away at Swarthmore, Retter finished out her senior year the Division III individual national champion in discus. She arrived at Villanova in 2024, and her transition to Division I was seamless. She became the fourth athlete in school history to be an outdoor conference champion in women’s discus and became one of six athletes and fourth indoors at Villanova to make the Big East Championships podium in shot-put.
“Adria has made a phenomenal transition,” Koumlelis said. “She had an instant impact last year during her first year here and continues to do so in her last year of eligibility. It’s just been a very positive experience, and working with her I see her knocking on the door of the school record. The season still has a while before it’s done, but [Retter] has been able to come and make the transition to the Villanova throws program and excels by example.”
Now with two months of heavy competition left, Retter is eyeing to leave a final mark as a Wildcat with the school record for discus throw.
“It’s been exciting,” Retter said. “I feel like the school record is within reach. I’m excited for Penn Relays. It’s always been a goal for me to do really well there. It would also be great to repeat and win the Big East again. But my bigger goal is to make it through the first round of the [NCAA Championships]. I’ve never made it to Nationals, so it would be cool to do that for the team.”
