Official BIG EAST Release

NEW YORK--Junior middle distance runner Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) and senior pole vaulter Alexandra Wasik (Medina, Ohio) were named the BIG EAST Female Track Athlete of the Week and the BIG EAST Female Field Athlete of the Week, respectively, as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. The awards come after terrific performances by both Villanova athletes at the Gotham Cup last week.

Piccirillo won the 800 meters with a time of 2:06.35 in her first race of the indoor season. Her time is currently the second-fastest in the nation this season and represents an indoor personal best mark. Piccirillo also broke into the Wildcats all-time top 10 indoor list for the 800 meters with her time.

In addition to winning the individual race, Piccirillo also anchored Villanova to a victory in the 4x800 meter relay. A lineup that included freshman Nicole Armstrong (Sydenham, Ont.), junior Kelsey Margey (Huntington, N.Y.) and senior Stephanie Schappert (Delray Beach, Fla.) in front of Piccirillo finished with a winning time of 8:51.16 and posted a winning margin of nearly 10 seconds.

Wasik broke her own school record in the pole vault during the Gotham Cup and has now set a new Wildcats standard in the event three times in the past 11 months. She cleared a height of 4.22 meters to come in first in the pole vault in the meet. Wasik is currently tied for fourth place on the national indoor performance list and she soared past her previous top mark of 4.15 meters established during the past outdoor season.

The current awards for Piccirillo and Wasik are the first BIG EAST weekly honors in their careers.

Last week marked the first full team meet of the new year for Villanova, which returns to New York Armory this coming Friday to compete in the Metro Team Challenge. Additional members of the team will compete on Saturday in the Tiger Open at Princeton.