Complete Villanova Results

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.--Villanova controlled the middle distance events in dominant fashion in its first of five consecutive meets at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex on Friday afternoon. Junior Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Dublin, Ireland), sophomore Kaley Ciluffo (LeClaire, Iowa) and redshirt freshman Bella Burda (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) all won their events in their season debuts during competition at the Gotham Cup, and the Wildcats came out of the meet with several new personal best marks.

Cleirigh Buttner paced a field of 55 runners in the 800 meters with a winning time of 2:08.27, Ciluffo won the 1000 meters with a time of 2:45.91 and Burda tallied a win in the Mile with a personal best time of 4:50.01 in her first collegiate indoor race. The second-year Villanova runner did not compete indoors last year, and she started the 2017 calendar year on a strong note coming off a successful cross country season in the fall.

In the 800 meters, Cleirigh Buttner opened her indoor season with a victory and led three Wildcats entries in the event. Freshman McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) came in fourth with a season best time of 2:12.15, while junior Rebecca Del Rossi (Canton, N.Y.) was sixth in 2:14.45.

Ciluffo was the first of five Villanova runners who placed in the top seven of the 1000 meters. She was followed by sophomores Sammy Bockoven (Hudson, Ohio) and Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.), who each registered personal best times while finishing third (2:48.06) and fourth (2:48.90), respectively. Freshman Jacquelyn Smith (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) was fifth with a time of 2:54.90 and sophomore Erin Jaskot (Blauvelt, N.Y.) placed seventh (2:57.53).

It was a 1-2-3-4 sweep for the Wildcats in the Mile, with Burda leading the way in a field of 39 runners. Redshirt freshman Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.), who like Burda did not compete during the 2015-16 indoor season, came in second in 4:52.21 and was followed by junior Nicole Armstrong (Sydenham, Ont.) and senior Alexandra Russo (Bellport, N.Y.) in third (4:53.96) and fourth (4:59.40) place.

Villanova got a big race from junior Katie Fisher (Uxbridge, Ont.) in the 3000 meters, as she finished second in her season debut with a time of 9:52.36. In the sprints, freshman Amari Onque-Shabazz (Plainfield, N.J.) was the runner-up out of 87 total competitors with a time of 56.44. Senior Veronica Scott (Plymouth, N.H.) was fifth in 57.26, while junior Sidney Hayes (Spring Grove, Pa.) and sophomore Sarah Knowles (Clifton Park, N.Y.) notched season best times of 57.68 and 58.63, respectively. Hayes finished in sixth place and Knowles was 13th.

Junior Katie HoSang (Bedford, N.H.) lowered her personal best in the 60 meter hurdles for the second straight week after crossing the finish line in 8.89 seconds. She and freshman Danielle Burns (Phoenix, Ariz.) came in fifth and seventh out of 45 hurdlers. Burns recorded a time of 9.05.

The field events included a terrific result for freshman Gloria Donou (East Brunswick, N.J.) in the long jump and a first place finish for sophomore Adeline Scelzi (Glen Allen, Va.) in the pole vault. Donou recorded a jump of 5.55 meters in her third long jump competition this season. That distance, which narrowly missed being a lifetime best, was nevertheless Donou's top mark of the season and moves her onto the Wildcats all-time long jump performance list. The jump of 5.55 meters puts Donou ninth overall and fifth indoors in the Villanova records.

Four different Wildcats cleared a height of 3.45 meters in the pole vault to finish in the top five out of 13 athletes. Scelzi was successful at 3.45 meters with the fewest number of misses throughout the competition to finish first. Freshman Jessica Lee (Kailua, Hawaii) and senior Alexandra Elder (Moorestown, N.J.) tied for third, while junior Bridget Owen (Northborough, Mass.) was fifth.

Villanova will host its next two meets at the Ocean Breeze venue, beginning with next Friday's Villanova Open. That meet gets underway at 12 p.m.