Women's Track & Field 2/7/2021 12:07:00 AM

French Breaks School Record in Shot Put at Army West Point Dual Meet

Graduate transfer from Clemson eclipses 20-year old record in her Villanova debut

WEST POINT, N.Y.—Senior thrower Grayce French (Ridgeland, S.C.) broke a 20-year school record in the shot put and Villanova set two facility records at Gillis Field House in a dual meet at Army on Saturday afternoon. French threw for 14.85 meters to eclipse by four centimeters the previous school record of 14.81 meters which was set by Melinda Boykin on May 19, 2001 at the outdoor BIG EAST Championships.

Boykin held both the overall school record since then and the Wildcats previous indoor standard of 14.80 meters which she set on February 1, 2003 at Penn State. French set the new mark on her fifth of six attempts in Saturday's meet, which marked Villanova's first team competition of the season. Junior high jumper Sanaä Barnes (Keller, Texas) and junior distance runner Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) each set facility record while winning their respective events. Barnes cleared the bar at 1.82 meters in the high jump and Olivere won the Mile with a time of 4:47.99.

The other event wins for the Wildcats came in the 60 meter hurdles, the 500 meters and the pole vault. Junior Jada Thomas (Kingston, Jamaica) came in first in the final of the 60 meter hurdles in 8.95, sophomore Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) won the 500 meters in 1:16.81 and junior Ashley Preston (Franklinville, N.J.) cleared a height of 3.80 meters in the pole vault.

Redshirt freshman Jane Livingston (Lancaster, Pa.) posted the fastest time of the night in the 60 meters with a personal best mark of 7.65 in the preliminary heats, but she did not compete in the final. Villanova swept the top two spots in each of the four events it won on the afternoon.

ADDITIONAL MEET HIGHLIGHTS

Sophomore distance runner Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) finished second to Olivere in the Mile and recorded a personal best time of 4:48.33 … She cut nearly five seconds off the time of 4:53.01 which she posted as a freshman last year.

French was among three Wildcats making their Villanova debuts in Saturday's meet … Freshmen Caroline Carlson (Miami, Fla.) and Roschell Clayton (Montego Bay, Jamaica) competed in the 60 meter hurdles and the high jump, respectively … Carlson recorded times of 9.72 and 9.73 in the hurdle, while Clayton was second to Barnes in the high jump with a height of 1.72 meters.

Barnes is the only athlete in program history to clear the high jump bar at 1.82 meters … She holds the overall and indoor school record in the event with a height of 1.84 meters at the NCAA Championships in 2019, and also jumped 1.82 meters at Columbia last season as well as outdoors at the Penn Relays in 2019 … She missed on three chances Saturday to tie her lifetime best mark of 1.85 meters.

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