JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Two of the younger members of the Villanova roster wrapped up terrific seasons on the second day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary at Hodges Stadium on Friday.  Freshmen Ashley Preston (Franklinville, N.J.) and Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) were in action for the Wildcats in the pole vault and the 3000 meter steeplechase. 
 
Preston cleared the bar in the pole vault at a height of 3.92 meters (12'10 ¼") to tie for 31^st among the qualifiers for the East Preliminary meet.  The competition opened at 3.77 meters (12'4 ½") and Preston made it over on her third and final attempt at that height.  She was successful at 3.92 meters on her second attempt and was one of 35 athletes remaining when the bar moved to 4.07 meters (13'4 ¼").  There were only 17 competitors who advanced at that height. 
 
In her first year of collegiate competition, Preston was the BIG EAST pole vault champion both indoors and outdoors.  She also became only the fourth women's pole vaulter in school history to clear the bar at a height of four meters or higher when she recorded a personal best mark of 4.02 meters at the outdoor conference meet.  Preston is also the program's first freshman to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary since school record holder Alexandra Wasik in 2012.
 
Olivere ran in the national quarterfinal heats of the 3000 meter steeplechase and recorded a time of 10:24.48.  She placed seventh in her heat and 21^st overall while running only the third steeplechase of her career.  Olivere debuted in the event earlier this season at the Florida Relays and registered a time of 10:28.73.  She lowered her time to a personal best mark of 10:22.93 at the BIG EAST Championships two weeks ago, where she was the runner-up and earned All-BIG EAST honors.  Olivere became the Wildcats first qualifier for the east regional meet in the steeplechase since Sarah Morrison in 2011.
 
Friday night's race concluded a strong freshman campaign for Olivere, who added to her individual success in the steeplechase by contributing to the team in the relays.  She was part of a Championship of America title at the Penn Relays where she led off Villanova's winning 4x1500 meter relay.  Olivere also ran the third leg of the 4x800 meter relay which came in second and earned All-BIG EAST honors at the conference championships.  Earlier in the year, she ran the 800 meter leg of the team's champion distance medley relay at the indoor BIG EAST meet and was also an individual scorer in the 3000 meters.
 
The final night of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary is on Saturday on the University of North Florida campus.  Senior Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) and sophomore Rachel McArthur (Bristow, Va.) will run in the national quarterfinal heats of the 1500 meters at 6:30 p.m., while graduate student Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) and sophomore Lauren Ryan (South Yarra, Australia) take the track in the semifinal round of the 5000 meters at 8:05 p.m.