NEW YORK—Freshman high jumper Sanaa Barnes (Keller, Texas) broke a 36-year old school record in the high jump with a height of 1.82 meters and senior distance runner Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) impressively won the invitational section of the Mile in 4:33.47 during the Dr. Sander Invitational/Columbia Challenge at New York Armory on Saturday afternoon.  The three-day meet wrapped up with the Wildcats tying for third out of 18 schools in the team standings. 
 
The field of 10 competitors in the fastest section of the Mile was an even mix of collegiate runners and individuals from professional club teams.  Hutchinson recorded a personal best time of 4:33.47 in one of the top Mile races in school history.  Her time puts her third on the NCAA performance list as of the close of competition at the Armory on Saturday evening, as well as fourth on the all-time Villanova performance list.  McArthur registered a time of 4:49.18 in the race. 
 
Hutchinson ran the fastest Mile by a Wildcats runner since Siofra Cleirigh Buttner posted a time of 4:33.16 at the FastTrack National Invitational on February 10, 2017.  Hutchinson's time is the 10^th-fastest overall by a Villanovan, including seventh among races that took place during the collegiate season.  The only runners ahead of her on the Wildcats performance list are school-record holder Vicki Huber (4:28.77) along with Sonia O'Sullivan (4:29.60) and Cleirigh Buttner. 
 
It was quite a weekend for Hutchinson, who on Friday afternoon anchored Villanova in the distance medley relay and produced a split of 4:31.35 over 1600 meters.  She was a second team All-American in the Mile as a sophomore two years ago. 
 
Barnes, a two-sport student-athlete for the Wildcats who played volleyball during the fall, had a sensational debut in her first collegiate track & field meet.  She recorded a mark of 1.82 meters, clearing the bar on her second try at that height, and broke the previous Villanova record of 1.81 meters which was set by Peggy Stewart at the indoor AIAW Championship on March 12, 1982.  She equaled the mark at the EAIAW meet a year later, with the record standing more than 36 years until Barnes' debut on Saturday afternoon.  
 
The result was hardly out of context for Barnes, who represented the United States at the IAAF World U20 Championships this past summer and who has a lifetime best of 1.85 meters.  Her mark of 1.82 meters on Saturday was tied for fifth in the NCAA as of the close of competition in the Columbia meet. 
 
Barnes passed at the first three heights on Saturday and entered the competition with the bar at 1.70 meters.  She missed on her first attempt of the day but then reeled off three straight successful jumps at 1.70, 1.75 and 1.80 meters.  The last of those three attempts made her the meet champion, as she was the lone competitor in the field of 15 athletes to make it over at 1.80 meters.  Competing then only against herself and the school record book, Barnes was successful on her second attempt at 1.82 meters.  She eventually missed on three tries to equal her personal best at 1.85 meters. 
 
Graduate transfer Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) tallied the Wildcats third victory of the day with a first-place finish in the college section of the 3000 meters.  She won with a time of 9:14.72 and cruised to a margin of victory of nearly 10 seconds over the runner-up from Oklahoma and the rest of the field of 35 runners.  Senior Bella Burda (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) came in fifth with a time of 9:35.21 and freshman Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) was clocked in 9:55.75. 
 
In the college section of the Mile, freshman Reilly Siebert (Syosset, N.Y.) ran a personal best time of 4:45.12 to finish fourth out of 24 competitors.  She beat her high school PR of 4:50.78 by more than five seconds in a strong effort, while junior Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.) came in sixth overall with a time of 4:52.38.  Junior sprinter McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) rounded out the top Villanova results from Saturday's action with a fourth place finish in the 800 meters.  She posted a time of 2:09.52 one day after running an 800 meter split of 2:07.12 on the distance medley relay. 
 
Next up on the schedule for the Wildcats is their lone home meet of the season, the Villanova Invitational next Saturday at Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex.  Running and field events both get underway at 4 p.m.