Complete Results

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - In its first meet of the 2015 season, Villanova had a group of five runners and five unattached athletes in competition at the Big Five Invitational on Friday evening. Sophomore Drake Johnston (Santa Monica, Calif.) led the pack of scoring runners with a 15th place overall finish and a time of 19:20.3 on the 6,000 meter Belmont Plateau course.

Johnston, freshman Elliot Slade (Cardiff, United Kingdom), sophomores Ben Malone (River Vale, N.J.) and Zach Swenson (Boulder, Colo.), and junior Josh Lampron (Mansfield, Mass.) made up the official Wildcats lineup for the meet.

The five runners for Villanova were separated by less than a minute at the finish line, with Johnston the team's top finisher by a margin of less than six seconds. Slade came in 19th overall with a time of 19:26.1 and was followed by Malone in 33rd place (20:03.5), Swenson in 35th place (20:08.9) and Lampron in 39th place (20:13.5).

Five true freshmen competed as unattached runners during the meet, with local products Andrew Marston (Wayne, Pa.) and Casey Comber (Maple Glen, Pa.) coming in first and second overall in a field of 80 runners. Marston crossed the finish line with a winning time of 18:52.3 and Comber posted a time of 19:02.2. Rounding out the group were Paul Power (Phoenixville, Pa.) in 14th place (19:19.4), Griffin Tichenor (Unionville, Ind.) in 20th place (19:28.8) and Lucas Arrivo (Ann Arbor, Mich.) in 56th place (20:53.8).

This is the third straight year that the Wildcats have opened their season at the Big Five Invitational. The meet is a chance for the squad's middle distance runners to get a race under their belts early in the season. Villanova is continuing to build towards the main portion of its season schedule. Next up for the Wildcats is the Main Line Invitational on the Alumni Course at nearby Haverford College.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS
Big Five Invitational (5th of 5)

Drake Johnston           15th of 80            19:20.3Elliot Slade             19th                  19:26.1Ben Malone               33rd                  20:03.5Zach Swenson             35th                  20:08.9Josh Lampron             39th                  20:13.5

UNATTACHED VILLANOVA RUNNERS

Andrew Marston           1st of 80             18:52.3Casey Comber             2nd                   19:02.2Paul Power               14th                  19:19.4Griffin Tichenor         20th                  19:28.8Lucas Arrivo             56th                  20:53.8