ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Three event titles highlighted a successful day of competition for Villanova at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Freshman sprinter
Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) finished first in the 500 meters in her collegiate debut, senior
Trudy-Ann Williamson (Kingston, Jamaica) opened her season with a win in the 60 meters and senior jumper
Gloria Donou (East Brunswick, N.J.) won the triple jump at Wesley A. Brown Field House. A total of 17 athletes competed in 10 events for the Wildcats in the meet at Navy.
INDIVIDUAL WINNERS
- Williamson won the 60 meters in 7.59 and has now finished first in 18 of the 19 collegiate races she has run in the event, including both preliminary heats and final sections.
- In the first official race of her collegiate career, Martinez paced a field of 10 runners in the 500 meters with a winning time of 1:14.80. The native of Gahanna, Ohio had a winning margin of nearly three seconds over the runner-up from Navy.
- Donou recorded an indoor personal best in the triple jump with a winning mark of 11.71 meters. The result moves her up a spot to eighth place on Villanova's all-time indoor performance list in the triple jump.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
- Sophomore pole vaulter Ashley Preston (Franklinville, N.J.) became the third athlete in school history to clear a height of at least four meters during indoor competition. She had a successful attempt on her third and final try at exactly 4.00 meters to finish as the runner-up in the meet.
- Freshman sprinter Alexis Martin (Gaithersburg, Md.) and junior Adrianna Letros (North York, Ont.) each recorded personal best times in both the 200 meters and the 400 meters. Martin ran the 200 meters in 25.80 and the 400 meters in 59.16 in her collegiate debut, while Letros posted times of 26.59 and 59.25 in her two races on the day.
- Two of the runners who helped the cross country team advance to the NCAA Championships during the fall opened their indoor track & field seasons. Freshman Brynne Sumner (Canton, Ga.) and sophomore Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) recorded times of 2:51.24 and 2:51.89, respectively, in the 1000 meters.
THE RUNDOWN
- Freshman Faith Robinson (St. Louis Park, Minn.) and junior Jennifer Barbour (Middletown, Conn.) competed in both the 60 meters and the long jump. Robinson had a time of 8.01 in the 60 meters and later recorded a long jump of 5.15 meters. Barbour posted a time of 8.10 and jumped 4.91 meters.
- The top Villanova finisher in the long jump was sophomore multi-event athlete Liv Morgan (Bronx, N.Y.), who placed third with a jump of 5.23 meters. Sophomore Trinity Hart (Scotch Plains, N.J.) came in 11th (4.81m).
- In the pole vault Preston's second place finish was followed by juniors Cala Lejman (Ambler, Pa.) and Amanda McNelis (Commack, N.Y.) clearing the at 3.60 meters and 3.45 meters, respectively. Junior Katie Ciccarone (Freehold, N.J.) came in seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 10.66 meters.
- Villanova had one thrower in competition, sophomore Emily Galvin (Pitman, N.J.) who registered a distance of 10.37 meters in the weight throw.
UP NEXT
- Villanova competes in the Dr. Sander Invitational and the Columbia Challenge next weekend. The meets run concurrently at New York Armory on Friday and Saturday, January 24-25.
