AUSTIN, Texas—Fifth year Villanova distance runner Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) added another accolade to her impressive collegiate resume when she competed in the national semifinal round of the 3000 meter steeplechase at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday night. Olivere recorded a time of 10:18.93 in the first of two heats and placed 21^st overall in the semifinal round. She is the Wildcats first runner in 14 years to qualify in the steeplechase for the national championships meet.
 
Olivere is the school record holder in the steeplechase and holds the four fastest times in school history in the event. Her long ledger of career accomplishments in the steeplechase while wearing a Villanova singlet includes competing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2021 to go along with a BIG EAST title and four consecutive All-BIG EAST honors. Olivere was an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships this season after she placed third in her heat at the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Fla. two weeks ago.
 
The national semifinal round at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus featured the water jump outside the main oval with a starting point on the front straightaway of the track. Olivere got out strong in her heat which quickly slowed down into a tactical race with 83-second splits through the first several laps around the track in hot and humid conditions. Olivere finished 11^th in her heat and 21^st overall in her first career appearance at the outdoor NCAA Championships. The last runner from the Wildcats before Olivere to advance to the national meet in the steeplechase was former school record holder Sarah Morrison in 2009.
 
Olivere will be named an honorable mention All-American in the 3000 meter steeplechase when those honors are officially announced by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) next week. Her overall collegiate career includes All-America honors in cross country and outdoor track & field to go along with four BIG EAST titles and 15 career All-BIG EAST honors. Olivere was a BIG EAST champion in all three seasons during her career, winning the individual cross country title in 2019 and doubling with steeplechase and 5000 meter titles at the 2021 outdoor conference championships. She was also part of an indoor BIG EAST title in the distance medley relay.
 
Along the way Olivere made the 3000 meter steeplechase her signature event on the track after competing in it for the first time in just her second collegiate outdoor race in 2019. She and teammate Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) have gone on to record the 15 fastest times in school history over the last four years, with Olivere currently holding the school record of 9:49.88 which she set at the USATF New York Open & Masters Outdoor Championships in June 2021. The performance secured her spot at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials the same month. Olivere is also a former Pan American U20 Championships gold medalist in the steeplechase.
 
Thursday marked the first night of women's competition at the NCAA Championships. The meet shifts back to the second day of men's events on Friday when Villanova will have junior Liam Murphy running in the final of the 1500 meters along with fifth year triple jumper Malik Cunningham competing in his signature field event. Women's competition concludes on Saturday when Wildcats junior Roschell Clayton (Montego Bay, Jamaica) makes her NCAA Championships debut in the high jump.