This weekend, Villanova track and field will compete in the Big East Championships, hosted by DePaul. Concluding the indoor season, the Wildcats will travel to Chicago, IL at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center.
The meet will take place over the course of two days, starting on Friday, Feb. 28.
“Everyone kind of competes in all the events,” Villanova men’s head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said. “If there’s any one time during the year where the whole team is together, this is it.”
The reigning champion of the meet is University of Connecticut, both on the men’s and women’s sides. The Huskies’ highly skilled and massive team make them a tough competitor.
While Villanova has a strong lineup (the men’s team ranks No. 10 nationally), scoring for each event is based on the times, distances and number of entries. The Wildcats having a smaller team than the Huskies gives them fewer chances to redeem points for a higher ranking.
“It’s just a different compilation of how they can put a team together,” O’Sullivan said. “We can’t do [what UConn does].”
Last year, the women’s team ranked No. 2 in the Big East after the championship on Feb. 24, 2024. Senior Sadie Sigfstead finished with a time of 15:59.18 in the 5K, earning first place. 2024 graduate Jane Livingston won the 60m dash (7.47) and the 60m hurdles (8.18). Junior Micah Trusty ran a 2:05.61 800m to reach second place.
The men’s team finished third in the 2024 Big East indoor championship. The DMR — made up of juniors Marco Langon and Ronan O’Neill, fifth-year Liam Murphy and 2024 graduate Xian Shively — won. Murphy also took first place in the 3k, with a time of 7:42.51.
“[Murphy is] definitely at such a very high level that he’ll most certainly be going in that direction [of professional track],” O’Sullivan said. “And at the same time, he’s in the middle of his MBA. So, he’s going to have a great future ahead of him.”
Langon was not far behind Murphy in the 3K, finishing second with a time of 7:43.83.
For the 2025 championship, O’Sullivan and women’s head coach Gina Procaccio make entries to ensure the athletes’ strengths are being tested, while also allowing for ample rest. Both coaches and staff try not to force the athletes to overextend themselves on race days.
Although O’Sullivan is unsure of which events some of his distance runners will focus on, he did acknowledge the possibility of changes to distance and sprint relay teams.
One breakout star finishing up his inaugural indoor season is distance runner CJ Sullivan.
“CJ is very committed to his self-improvement,” O’Sullivan said. “He has made great progress this year and he’s only getting better.”
Sullivan redshirted his freshman year and ran in his first race in Spring 2024. After getting second place in the 3k at the Penn State Open back in January, Sullivan will be running both the 5K and 3K races this weekend in Chicago.
“I definitely want to score some good points for the team,” Sullivan said. “We have some good crews for both the 5K and the 3K. So, I think we can do pretty well.”
Despite this being the final meet of the indoor season for the majority of the team, three Wildcats received a qualifying time for the NCAA Championships. Two weeks after the Big East Championship, Murphy, Langon and sophomore Dan Watke will travel to Virginia Beach for nationals after each achiving qualifying times in their respective races on March 14 and 15.
“We have to keep… making an honest effort that they’re making a contribution for the whole team, because I think it’s good for the whole team when that happens,” O’Sullivan said.
