Villanova track and field competed in the Penn Classic at the Ott Center in Philadelphia, PA. The two-day meet started with field events on Friday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 7, and featured running events.
Fifth-year Sean Donoghue and junior Ben Thomas finished first and second in the men’s 1,000-meter race, crossing the finish line at 2:22.90 and 2:23.42, respectively. The long-distance duo achieved personal bests in the event as well.
“That was probably one of Sean’s best races in a while,” men’s head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said. “He was very happy with it, very aggressive and finished well. We thought it’d be important for them to race, because that would have been their first race, really, before going to Boston next week.”
In the 800-meter women’s invitational, fifth-year Lizzie Martell led the way for the ‘Cats at 2:03.58, earning third place. Martell was the first collegiate finisher, as the race contained both collegiate and professional runners. She also achieved a personal best and the No. 6 time in program history. The time landed Martell at No. 15 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the Big East for the indoor season.
“It’s great for [Martell] to just step up and perform and get it done [and] to have Bella [Walsh], the sophomore, and Sophia [McInnes], the freshman, in there with her,” women’s head coach Gina Procaccio said. “I think it’s great, you know, for them to be able to see, you know, how fast they can get as the years go by.”
Junior Bella Walsh also competed in the 800 meters, running a personal best of 2:06.78. Freshman Sophia McInnes crossed the finish line at 2:08.76, marking a season best.
Junior Dan Watcke finished third in the 800-meter men’s race at 1:47.48, only a second away from breaking his school record of 1:46.32. Watcke came in right behind Villanova track and field alum Sean Dolan (’24), who finished first in1:47.20.
“I thought he’d be comfortable with Sean Dolan in the race because he used to race with him,” O’Sullivan said. “I thought it’d be a good, comfortable area for him to do it.”
Three Wildcats competed in the women’s mile invitational. Fifth-year Nikki Vanasse finished second with a season best of 4:41.69. In sixth place overall at 2:13.61, freshman Zoe Mosher competed in her first collegiate race. Freshman Cecilia Montagnese came off a month’s rest due to injury and competed in the mile, running a personal best of 5:01.14.
“It’s always fun coming to the Penn meets because we all take the train together, and it’s so many Villanova people here,” Montagnese said. “It was fun to run a season best, but I definitely want to run faster in the next couple weeks.”
Freshman thrower Theo Hedgemon achieved a season best of 16.43 meters in weight throw. The distance puts Hedgemon at No. 10 in school history and in the top eight of Big East performances this season.
Fifth-year Tristan Bolinsky achieved a fourth-place finish with 17.54 meters in the same event. Bollinsky currently sits fourth all-time at Villanova with a record of 17.91 meters, previously set last month at the Penn 10 Elite.
Junior Brian Theobald shaved two seconds off his personal best, clocking in at 4:08.66 for the men’s invitational mile.
Junior Olivia Allen is in the top-10 performances at Villanova for the 400-meter, 500-meter and 400-meter hurdles. Allen ran her first collegiate 200-meter race on Saturday, finishing in 24.56. Allen’s time landed her at No. 5 in the indoor school record book.
A sister duo of jumpers reached personal bests for the ‘Cats this weekend. Junior Gina Smith jumped 11.94 meters, marking a seventh-best overall jump in program history, the sixth-best indoor triple and a personal best. Sophomore Jenny Smith reached 5.36 meters in the long jump.
Junior Malaika Cunningham was in third place in the high jump at 1.73 meters. The duo of freshman Gabby Pistner and junior Therese Trainer put up season bests in the regular heats of the 800-meter race. Pister finished in fourth place at 2:12.59, and Trainer came in at 2:13.61.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, Villanova track and field has several meets across the country.
Villanova men’s distance runners will compete at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.
A group of sprinters and field athletes on both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Virginia Beach for the Indoor Pre-Nationals.
The women’s team will be competing at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, SC, while distance runners will travel to Seattle, WA, for the Husky Classic on Saturday, Feb. 14.
