BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Sophomore multi-event athletes Sofia Calabrese (Edwards, Colo.) and Niki Cleary (Flemington, N.J.) finished second and fifth, respectively, in the pentathlon at the Fast Times Before Finals Meet at Lehigh on Friday evening. They were among five athletes who competed for Villanova in the nearby meet at Rauch Field House. There were also three athletes competing for the Wildcats in the pole vault.

Calabrese scored 3,140 points in her first collegiate pentathlon to come in as the runner-up in the field of 12 competitors. Her score puts her into eighth in school history on the all-time pentathlon performance list, and she also set personal best marks in two different events on the way to her second place finish. Calabrese ran the 60 meter hurdles in 9.96 seconds and registered a distance of 5.13 meters in the long jump to establish new personal bests in those events. She tied for third among the multi-event athletes with a height of 1.59 meters in the long jump, ranked second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:32.61 and had a mark of 8.63 meters in the shot put.

Not far behind Calabrese was Cleary in fifth place, with a personal best score of 2,793 points. Her best event in the pentathlon was the long jump, in which she was second in the field with a jump of 5.35 meters. Cleary was fifth in both the shot put (9.39 meters) and the 800 meters (2:044.06), with the previous mark being a new personal best. Her other marks were a time of 10.29 in the 60 meter hurdles and a height of 1.35 meters in the high jump.

The only individual event the Wildcats competed in was the pole vault, in which a trio of athletes all cleared a height of 3.35 meters. Freshman Jessica Lee (Kailua, Hawaii) was successful on her first attempt at that height to match a personal best, while senior Alexandra Elder (Moorestown, N.J.) and sophomore Adeline Scelzi (Glen Allen, Va.) cleared the bar on their second tries at 3.35 meters.

Following a break for final exams and the holiday period, the Wildcats return to action for the Nittany Lion Challenge at Penn State on January 14.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS

Pole Vault

Jessica Lee                      tie-4th of 15               3.35mAdeline Scelzi                   6th                         3.35mAlexandra Elder                  7th                         3.35m

Pentathlon

Sofia Calabrese                  2nd of 12                   3,140 Points60 Meter Hurdles                 9th                         9.96High Jump                        tie-3rd                     1.59mShot Put                         7th                         8.63m Long Jump                        3rd                         5.13m800 Meters                       2nd                         2:32.61
Niki Cleary                      5th                         2,793 Points60 Meter Hurdles                 11th                        10.29High Jump                        12th                        1.35mShot Put                         5th                         9.39mLong Jump                        2nd                         5.35m800 Meters                       5th                         2:44.06