PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Both the past and present success of the Villanova track & field program was on display Saturday afternoon as the 122nd running of the Penn Relays came to a close. The current team came in fifth in the Championship of America 4xMile relay in a race that was run in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Wildcats champion 2-mile relay team from 1966. That team was inducted to the Penn Relays Wall of Fame on the back turn of the Franklin Field track just prior to the 4xMile relay.

Villanova had a lineup that consisted of sophomore Elliot Slade (Cardiff, United Kingdom), junior Josh Lampron (Mansfield, Mass.), senior Jordy Williamsz (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore Ben Malone (River Vale, N.J.). They notched a fifth place finish with a time of 16:34.64, with Slade producing the team's fastest leg of the race with a split of 4:06.4 on the leadoff leg. Lampron followed him with a split of 4:08.4 for the second leg, Williamsz had a split of 4:11.2 on the third leg and Malone anchored with a split of 4:08.6.

All four members of the 1966 team were present for their Wall of Fame induction. The team included Alan McCafferty, Bill Heidelberger, Ian Hamilton and Dave Patrick. They won the 1966 title in the two-mile relay with a winning time of 9:46.4. The race was noteworthy because 1966 marked the final year of the old cinder track at Franklin Field. Villanova's winning time of 9:46.4 in the two-mile relay was a record at the time.

In today's 4xMile race, seven of the 10 teams in the field were still in the race when it moved to the anchor leg. Malone was in fourth place after his first lap, with Iona running out in front of the rest of the lead pack. Iona was still in the lead at the start of the bell lap, at which point the top four teams put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack.

Slade started off the race and went out with the lead when the starting gun sounded. He was settled into third place behind Indiana and Georgetown as the initial positions started to shake out. Slade was in third place when he handed off to Lampron, with no real lead pack or chase pack having formed yet.

The pace slowed down after the first handoff, but picked up again after 300 meters. Lampron was pushed back to the middle of the pack as Penn took the lead towards the midpoint of the second leg. Lampron twice tried to move to the outside and move up, and he was back in third place with 600 meters to go before the handoff. It was still Penn and Georgetown in the lead, with Indiana and the Wildcats on their heels when the third runners got the baton.

Williamsz was in third place after his first lap around the track, and had moved up to second with 600 meters to go before the anchor leg. The top seven teams were still tightly packed at the handoff, when Iona made its move for the lead.

Later on Saturday afternoon, junior John McDonald (New Providence, N.J.) competed in the College section of the hammer. He threw for a personal best distance of 47.15 meters and finished in 28th place.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS
Penn Relays (Day 3 of 3)
Saturday, April 30

4xMile Relay - Championship of America

Villanova           5th of 10            16:34.64     Elliot Slade        1200 Meters          4:06.4Josh Lampron        400 Meters           4:08.4Jordy Williamsz     800 Meters           4:11.2Ben Malone          1600 Meters          4:08.6

Hammer Throw - College

John McDonald       28th of 28           47.15m