This past weekend, Villanova’s track and field team traveled to Charlottesville, VA, for the Virginia Challenge. On Friday, April 17, junior Olivia Allen won the 400-meter hurdles event in 58.43. Allen then claimed 10th place in the 400-meter race, finishing in 55.29.
It was a big weekend for women’s field events. Freshman Hallie Kees reached a personal best in the javelin of 41.38 meters on Thursday. Junior Mailaka Cunningham claimed second place in the high jump at 1.75 meters. Cunningham currently has the best mark in the Big East for her event.
“The whole purpose of going to regional caliber meets is so they face the same athletes for the bigger meets later in the season,” women’s head coach Gina Procaccio said. “It is good to see them make progress throughout the season in their specialty event.”
Junior Gina Smith reached a personal record in the triple jump. Smith’s mark of 12.02 meters puts her in fifth place on the Villanova all-time performance list.
Junior sprinter Parker Turner reached personal bests in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Turner ran a 10.81 to get fifth in his heat on Friday. On Saturday, he returned to the track, finishing 10th overall in the 200-meter with a time of 22.02.
The quartet of women’s distance runners in the 1500-meter race all had top-six times in the Big East. Sophomore Bella Walsh placed fourth in Virginia, finishing in 4:13.56, a personal best and the No. 8 spot in program history. Sophomore Roie Shay finished fifth with a time of 4:13.98, a season best. Junior Tilly O’Connor also had a personal best of 4:14.22. Fifth-year Nikki Vannasse had a season best, crossing the finish line at 4:16.92.
In the men’s 400-meter hurdles race, sophomore Liam Gluck led the way for the ‘Cats, finishing in 53.63. The time was a personal record for Gluck and was his second in seven days, after he ran a 54.69 at Rutgers’ Relays. Seniors Ronan O’Neill and Sal Barretta had times of 55.49 and 56.06, respectively. Freshman Kate Borton ran a 58.68 in the women’s event.
Gluck, O’Neill and Barretta returned to the track for the open 400-meter race. Gluck finished in 48.88, and Barretta ran a 49.58. O’Neill managed a lifetime best of 49.28. Senior Jimmy Milgie won the 400-meter at 48.94. Freshman Andy Geiser and junior Matthew Griffin finished the race in 49.47 and 49.52, respectively.
The freshman heats of the women’s 1500-meter race had a trio of Wildcats set personal records. Zoe Mosher led the way, finishing at 4:29.58. Maeve Smith ran a 4:32.51 while Cecilia Montagnese crossed the line at 4:35.58.
“It is really great to see the freshmen find their way,” Proccacio said. “We put them in races to suit their ability, and it definitely changes over time.”
Fifth-year Margaret Carroll fought for sixth place in the 5K, finishing in 16:20.44. Freshman Yianni Papanikolas, sophomore Chris Coulter and senior Liam Anderson competed in the men’s shot put. Papanikolas set the top mark for the ‘Cats with 15.44 meters. Coulter threw for 14.64 meters while Anderson reached 13.81 meters.
Freshman Theo Hedgemon threw the hammer 50.43 meters. Fifth-year Tristan Bolinsky threw the hammer 53.76 meters. Bolinsky returned to the cage for the discus throw and reached a season best of 47.04 meters.
This weekend, Villanova’s track and field team will compete in the 130th Annual Pennsylvania Relay Carnival at Franklin Field. Events will kick off on Thursday with junior CJ Sullivan in the 10k. Villanova has run in the Penn Relays for more than 65 years and has won nearly 125 championship titles. Both Villanova coaches are still finalizing their heats, but Villanova will run the men’s and women’s DMR, men’s 4xMile and women’s 4×1500.
