ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Senior distance runner Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) put up the nation's top time in the Mile to this point in the season and was part of a distance medley relay lineup which also recorded the fastest current time in the nation during competition at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Villanova started the indoor track & field season with a terrific team performance which included 27 athletes competing in eight individual running events, the distance medley relay and six field events.  In addition to the first-place finishes by Hutchinson and the DMR squad, junior Amari Onque-Shabazz (Plainfield, N.J.) and sophomore Rachel McArthur (Bristow, Va.) were individual winners in the 500 meters and the 1000 meters, respectively. 
 

• Hutchinson makes a statement in the Mile: In a dominant early-season performance, senior Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) recorded a winning time of 4:38.18 in the Mile.  She had a margin of victory of more than nine seconds over the runner-up from Penn and registered the fastest time in the nation to this point in the season, pending the outcome of other meets around the country this weekend.  Hutchinson's performance was reminiscent of last spring's outdoor campaign when she recorded a big victory in the 1500 meters in the first meet of the season.  Graduate transfer Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) came in third in the Mile with a time of 4:48.73.

 

• Distance medley relay takes first in a thrilling finish: The final event of the meet was one of the most exciting as the Wildcats held on to a first place finish in the distance medley relay.  A lineup of freshman Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.), senior Kaley Ciluffo (LeClaire, Iowa), Hutchinson and junior Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.) recorded a winning time of 11:25.22 and came in less than half a second ahead of runner-up Princeton (11:25.66).  Olivere opened the race with a split of 3:28.73 over 1200 meters, Ciluffo posted a split of 56.72 over 400 meters, Hutchinson covered the 800 meter third leg in 2:11.53 and Campbell anchored with a split of 4:48.25 on the 1600 meter leg.

 

• Hutchinson, Campbell and Olivere had all raced in the same heat of the Mile earlier in the day prior to the DMR race.  Campbell came in seventh in the Mile with a time of 4:57.29 and Olivere was 10^th in 5:05.45.  A second Villanova lineup in the DMR, consisting of freshman Reilly Siebert (Syosset, N.Y.), McArthur, Alcorta and senior Sammy Bockoven (Hudson, Ohio), came in third in the race in 11:59.27. 

 

• McArthur leads the way in the 1000 meters: Sophomore middle distance runner Rachel McArthur (Bristow, Va.) recorded a personal best time of 2:46.51 in winning the 1000 meters.  She paced a field of 15 runners, while Siebert was fifth in the race and set a new personal best with a mark of 2:49.08. 

 

• Onque-Shabazz and Keegan go 1-2 in 500 meters: Junior sprinters Amari Onque-Shabazz (Plainfield, N.J.) and McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) paced a field of 12 competitors in the 500 meters.  Onque-Shabazz finished first in 1:13.22, while Keegan was on her heels in second place with a time of 1:13.36.  The pair have each excelled in the 400 meters and also run the 600 meters indoors during their collegiate careers, but were running the 500 meters for the first time.  The winning time of 1:13.22 for Onque-Shabazz ties her for 10^th place on the Wildcats all-time performance list. 

 

• Jones surges to a PR in the 60 meter hurdles: Sophomore sprinter Sarah Jones (Sewell, N.J.) registered a personal best time of 8.67 and was the runner-up in the final of the 60 meter hurdles.  She was ranked third overall after being clocked in 8.74 in the preliminary heats, with her new top time in the final moving her up a spot in the final order of finish.  The second-year member of the Villanova sprint group finished fifth in the hurdles at last year's BIG EAST Championships, while her previous PR in the hurdles had been 8.76 from last season's Villanova Invitational.

 

• Hart and Preston make strong first impressions in the jumps: Freshman Trinity Hart (Scotch Plains, N.J.) recorded a mark of 5.50 meters in the long jump.  That distance puts her into eighth place on the Wildcats all-time indoor performance list.  Preston finished third in the pole vault with a height of 3.70 meters, a mark that lands in a tie for ninth place on the program's indoor performance list.  She cleared the bar at heights of 3.40 meters on her second try and 3.55 meters on her final attempt before a successful effort on her first try at 3.70 meters.

 

• Other highlights: Junior Sofia Calabrese (Edwards, Colo.) came in fourth in the high jump with a height of 1.65 meters … It is the fourth time during her Villanova career – all indoors – that Calabrese had reached 1.65 meters or higher … Her personal best height is 1.69 meters during pentathlon competition at the 2017 BIG EAST meet … Hart, Preston, freshman Liv Morgan (Bronx, N.Y.) and freshman Emily Galvin (Pitman, N.J.) all made their Wildcats debuts during the meet … Morgan competed in the 60 meter hurdles and the long jump, while Galvin was in action in both the shot put and the weight throw … Alcorta, Olivere and Siebert ran their first track & field races for the Wildcats after previously debuting in a Villanova shirt during the just-ended cross country season.

 

• Next up: Villanova will compete in the Gotham Cup on Friday starting at 2 p.m.  The meet will be held at Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex in Bronx, N.Y.