Complete Results

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.--A group of seven Villanova runners opened the 2014 season by competing in the Big Five Invitational on Friday evening. The meet at the Belmont Plateau featured each of the Philadelphia Big Five teams in a 6,000 meter men's race. Senior Chris O'Sullivan (Havertown, Pa.) was the top finisher for the Wildcats and came in 21st overall with a time of 19:20.4. Villanova finished with a team score of 107 points from its first five finishers.

The first full meet of the season is still nearly two weeks away but the Big Five meet offers the Wildcats a chance to continue their training for the bulk of the season to come. Five underclassmen were part of the group of seven Villanova runners in the race, and the meet was a chance for some of the team's middle distance unit to get a race under their belts.

Redshirt freshmen Drake Johnston (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Ben Malone (River Vale, N.J.) followed O'Sullivan by placing 27th (19:41.1) and 30th (19:46.9), respectively. Senior Chris Fitzsimons (Hamden, Conn.) came in 38th overall (20:01.7) and was followed by sophomores Josh Lampron (Mansfield Mass.) and Kieran Brennan (Pearl River, N.Y.) in 49th place (20:46.2) and 54th place (21:08.9), respectively.

Also in action for the Wildcats was freshman Grant Wiggins (Virginia Beach, Va.), who competed as an unattached runner and came in 46th in the race with a time of 20:33.1.

Villanova will next run in the Main Line Invitational at Haverford College on Thursday, September 25.