STORRS, Conn. – Villanova had eight medal-winning performances on Friday including a massive javelin win for Taryn Ashby in the first day of the 2022 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships presented by JEEP.

The Wildcats earned 59 points in five of the six scored events of the day to sit in second place. They trail the hosting UConn Huskies who lead the pack with 72 points.

Ashby knocked down a BIG EAST first in the javelin throw, becoming the first competitor to win four javelin titles. Her winning throw came in her second attempt with a distance of 47.79 meters, the sixth-longest mark in team history. With that throw, she owns all eight of the top marks in Villanova history. Her gold medal is the 12^th for Villanova since 1986 and marks the sixth championship in a row that Villanova has had the top medalist. Liv Morgan also scored points for the 'Cats in the event, earning fourth place with a 42.69 meter throw.

Villanova had two of the top three finishes in the hammer, led by a record-breaking showing for Sade Meeks. She reset the team's highest mark with a 59.58 meter throw in her first attempt, earning silver. Behind her was Emily Galvin in third, with a third throw of 56.47 that smashed her previous personal best. That throw also jumped Galvin up to third on the program record list and makes her the second-best athlete in the event in team history.

Trinity Hart also set a new personal best in the long jump, finishing second with a mark of 5.94 meters. That mark came on her third attempt, sending her to the final for three more throws. She nearly topped that mark in her final attempt that went 5.90 meters.

Another silver showing came for the Wildcats in the pole vault, this time for Ashley Preston. She cleared the bar at 3.95 meters to second that second-place spot.

The final medal performance of the day came in the 3000 meter steeplechase later in the day. Anna Helwigh and Lydia Olivere paced the pack for most of the race before being overtaken by UConn's Mia Nahom. The pair ended up six seconds outside of the lead by the end with Helwigh posting a new facility record with a silver time of 9:58.13, the third-fastest time in Villanova history and demolishing her previous personal best by six seconds. Olivere checked in third at 10:03.05, earning a bronze medal.

A total of 10 Wildcats advanced to Saturday finals, including three in the 1500 run. Both Maggie Smith (4:30.86) and Anna Helwigh (4:41.41) automatically qualified based on finishes in their heats, taking fifth and sixth in the prelims, respectively. Emma McGill will join them after landing 12^th in the prelims with a time of 4:29.14.

Villanova had two of the top three qualifiers for the 100 meter hurdles. Jane Livingston won her heat with a time of 13.62 to lead all qualifiers. Jada Thomas advanced with the third-fastest time of 13.85. McKenna Keegan won her heat in the 400 meter dash by a healthy lead at 53.39, landing her third overall as an automatic qualifier. Not only did she knock down a new personal best, she posted the seventh-fastest time in team history.

Thomas was also an automatic qualifier in the 100 meter dash, clocking in at 11.95 for sixth overall. Her new personal best in the event now places her in a tie for sixth on Villanova's all-time top performers list.
Maya Dorer was the leader in the 800 meter run through the end of prelims with a personal-best time of 2:06.62. Madison Martinez landed third through the opening heats with a 2:09.64 while Alex Stasichin took sixth at 2:11.32, a new personal best.

The final day of competition is set to get underway starting with the heptathlon at 9 a.m. Field events are scheduled to get underway at 11:30 a.m. while track finals begin at noon.