NEW YORK—A trio of Villanova distance runners established personal best times in their respective events during competition on the second on final day of the Columbia Challenge at The Armory on Saturday afternoon. Senior Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) and freshman Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) each ran PRs in the 3000 meters while junior Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) set a new top time in the Mile.
 
Olivere and Sigfstead placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in a field of 44 competitors in the 3000 meters and crossed the finish line just over two seconds apart. It was Olivere in front coming in fifth overall with a time of 9:22.65 to lower her previous personal best by more than 11 seconds. She has run 9:33.87 in the 3K as a sophomore at the BIG EAST Championships two years ago. Sigfstead similarly had a huge PR in Saturday's race as she finished in 9:24.94, 20 full seconds better than her high school top time of 9:44.93.
 
The final event of the day for the Wildcats was the Mile in which Helwigh competed in the fastest heat. She came in sixth overall out of 48 runners and posted a time of 4:46.90 to lower the mark of 4:48.33 that she posted nearly one year ago to the day on February 6, 2021 in a dual meet at Army West Point.
 
Earlier in the day Villanova had entries in the college sections of both the 400 meters and the 800 meters. The freshman duo of Alex Stasichin (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Emily Robinson (Rogers, Ark.) led the Wildcats in the 800 meters with times of 2:13.59 and 2:16.26, respectively, while junior Nikki Merrill (Portsmouth, R.I.) was one spot behind Robinson with a time of 2:16.53. In the 400 meters, junior Alexis Martin (Gaithersburg, Md.) registered a time of 59.81 and freshman Maya Dorer (New York, N.Y.) was clocked in 1:00.41 in her first race of the indoor season.
 
Senior pole vaulter Ashley Preston (Franklinville, N.J.) competed on Saturday and cleared the bar at a height of 3.90 meters to tie for fifth place out of 26 entries. She passed at the opening height of 3.60 meters and was later successful on her first attempt of the day when she recorded a successful clearance at 3.75 meters. Preston cleared 3.90 meters on her third and final try before being eliminated when the bar was raised to 4.05 meters. That height would have matched an indoor PR for Preston.
 
The final Villanova athlete in action on the second day of the Columbia meet was sophomore multi-event competitor Caroline Carlson (Miami, Fla.) who recorded marks in the first four events of the pentathlon. She opened the day by posting a time of 9.41 in the 60 meter hurdles before going on to clear a height of 1.49 meters in the high jump, throw for 9.30 meters in the shot put and record a long jump of 4.69 meters.