On Friday, Oct. 24, the Villanova women’s cross country team competed in its fifth race of the season at the Haverford Invitational. The Wildcats secured their fourth first-place victory as a team this season.
The ‘Cats finished with a perfect score of 15 points, with all top-five scorers among the top eight overall finishers. Three of the top eight finishers ran unattached. Lehigh was second with 42 points.
With a strong finish at Haverford, the Wildcats anticipate competing in the Big East Championships this Friday, Oct. 31.
“They’ve conquered along the way every meet this far, so this is going to be their biggest challenge yet,” head coach Gina Procaccio said. “It’ll be fun to see how it plays out.”
The Haverford Invitational featured a 5,000-meter race on the Fran Rizzo Cross Country Course at Haverford College. Graduate Lizzie Martell came in first for the Wildcats and second overall, with a time of 17:39.4.
Villanova sophomore Bella Walsh competed unattached and won the race with a time of 17:36.5. This was Walsh’s first race of the 2025 cross country season.
Freshman Gabby Pistner improved by 26 seconds following her first time on the course back in September at the Main Line Invitational. The first-year placed third, with a time of 18:06.2.
“[Pistner] is really surprising me with her cross country abilities for such early years in college,” Procaccio said. “I’m excited to see what she can do on the track because she’s definitely developing good strength this fall.”
The remaining runners included junior Caelen O’Leary, sophomore Lucy Moran and junior Therese Trainer. All of the Wildcats placed in the top eight within a field of 44 runners.
The previous weekend, Villanova brought its varsity squad to the Pre Nationals Invitational meet, hosted at the University of Missouri. Villanova finished in second place behind BYU, the current top-ranked team in women’s cross country.
Prior to the meet, the ‘Cats were ranked No. 19 in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. They have since moved up five places to 14th, their highest ranking since the 2018 season.
At Pre-Nationals, junior Tilly O’Connor finished first in Villanova’s lineup for the first time in her career, coming in with a time of 19:55.7 on the 6,000 meter course. O’Connor finished in 15th place overall in a large field of 350 runners.
Behind O’Connor was graduate student Nikki Vanasse, who finished in 19th place with a time of 19:58.1.
The remaining scoring runners featured fifth-year Margaret Carroll, sophomore Rosie Shay and freshman Zoe Mosher. Carroll finished in 32nd place in 20:19.8, Shay came in 47th in 20:33.0, and Mosher in 65th with a time of 20:44.1.
Villanova beat out other highly-ranked teams, such as No. 3 Florida, No. 23 Boston College and No. 30 Tennessee.
Next up for the ‘Cats is the Big East Championships. Their main team to beat will be No. 10 ranked Georgetown.
Villanova will be without fifth-year All-American Sadie Sigfstead for the rest of the season, who finished in 15th place in the 2024 NCAA National Championship Race, due to injury.
“We definitely want to go in there believing we can win the championship next week,” Procaccio said. “But it’s definitely going to be a battle.”
The Big East Championships will be hosted by the Creighton University in Ashland, NE, on the Olsson Cross Country Course.
